Lawyers representing former President Donald Trump are now asking a federal court to take over his New York criminal trial from the state. They argue that he has been subjected to “Constitutional violations” in proceedings that contradict the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. The attorneys wrote in a filing Thursday that the “ongoing proceedings will continue to cause direct and irreparable harm to President Trump—the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential election—and voters located far beyond Manhattan.”
“And an entirely unjust sentencing is currently scheduled to occur on September 18, 2024, which could result in President Trump’s immediate and unconstitutional incarceration and prevent him from continuing his groundbreaking campaign,” they warned, according to Fox News. “Post-trial removal is necessary under these circumstances to afford President Trump an unbiased forum, free from local hostilities, where he can seek redress for these Constitutional violations,” the lawyers added in their effort to overturn his conviction.
In May, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records in paying off an adult film star, Stormy Daniels, following an alleged affair. The verdict followed a six-week trial resulting from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s probe into alleged hush money payments made before the 2016 presidential election. Critics of the trial pointed to a host of irregularities and noted that Bragg essentially concocted felony campaign finance charges though his predecessor, as well as the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission all could not find any violations under which to charge the former president.
However, Trump’s attorneys wrote in their filing with U.S. District Court in Manhattan that Bragg’s office “violated the Presidential immunity doctrine in grand jury proceedings, and again at trial, by relying on evidence of President Trump’s official acts during his first term in Office.” His attorneys added: “The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that these types of violations threaten the structure of the federal government and the ability of future Presidents to carry out their vital duties in the way the Framers intended.”
“In an opinion that became final less than 30 days ago, the Supreme Court held that President Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for his official acts, and — as particularly relevant here — that prosecutors may not use official-acts evidence in connection with a prosecution that they claim arises out of unofficial conduct,” they continued. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital on Thursday: “The Manhattan DA’s Witch Hunt, which violates many provisions of the United States Constitution and is crushed by the Supreme Court’s historic decision on Presidential immunity, has to be removed to federal court and summarily dismissed.”
Bragg may now be protecting Democrats who prefer not to see the Republican candidate jailed before Election Day. In a filing submitted on to state court last week, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that his office will not oppose Trump’s attorneys’ motion to delay the previously scheduled sentencing hearing on September 18th.
“The People defer to the Court on the appropriate post-trial schedule that allows for adequate time to adjudicate defendant’s [presidential immunity] motion while also pronouncing sentence ‘without unreasonable delay,’” prosecutors wrote, according to the Washington Examiner. “The Supreme Court’s recent decision did not consider whether a trial court’s ruling on that distinct evidentiary question is immediately appealable, and there are strong reasons why it should not be.
“Nonetheless, given the defense’s newly-stated position, we defer to the Court on whether an adjournment is warranted to allow for orderly appellate litigation of that question, or to reduce the risk of a disruptive stay from an appellate court pending consideration of that question,” Bragg’s filing said. It’s the second time he has honored Trump’s request for a delay in as many months. RedState contributor Bonchie described on X Bragg’s letter as an “incredibly transparent” effort to prevent President Trump from facing jail time, aiming to avoid increasing public sympathy for the Republican just a month after he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt.