New York court takes up Trump’s latest efforts to toss hush money conviction

Trump claims the case was “the most politically charged prosecution in our nation’s history.”MANHATTAN (CN) — President Donald Trump will take another stab at getting his historic hush money conviction, which infamously made him the first ever commander-in-chief to be found guilty of a crime, dismissed.On Thursday, Trump’s personal legal team will argue to a mid-level appellate court in New York that his prosecution was politically motivated, a last-ditch bid to overturn the 34 counts of falsifying business records a jury convicted him on in 2024.Manhattan jurors found Trump carried out a sweeping and salacious hush money scheme aimed at quelling bad press during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump’s former personal attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen testified at trial that Trump directed him to pay $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels, whom Trump was concerned would publicize that they had a sexual encounter a decade prior — while he was married.Cohen said Trump signed off on a monthly plan to repay him, illegally disguising reimbursement checks as standard legal fees. Further testimony revealed Trump often signed those illicit checks from the Oval Office during his first presidential term.While Trump could have faced jail time, he was merely sentenced to unconditional discharge early last year after his 2024 presidential win. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan deemed that the only conceivable sentence for an incoming president.Still, Trump has been persistent in his efforts to toss the case, which he calls “the most politically charged prosecution in our nation’s history” in legal filings. He claims he was unlawfully prosecuted for official acts he took while president — an argument that has already been shot down by multiple judges who said the hush money payments were personal issues.Trump also claims Merchan should have recused himself from the case. In 2020, Merchan donated $15 to Joe Biden and another $20 to two Democratic PACs. And during the trial, Merchan’s daughter ran an advertising firm that worked with Democrats.These issues created “the appearance of bias,” Trump argues, that should have warranted Merchan’s recusal. Merchan declined to do so on several occasions, relying on the judgment of a judicial ethics panel that found he could still be an objective presider.“Like every criminal defendant in a New York courtroom, President Trump was entitled to a fair trial before a properly instructed jury and a neutral judge,” Trump claims in a brief. “Instead, he was convicted after a trial that featured repeated and clear violations of his constitutional rights, federal law, and New York law, presided over by a judge who was required to recuse.”Trump’s appeal is being handled by his new legal team at Sullivan & Cromwell. They have a tall task ahead of them, according to retired New York Judge George Grasso, who called Trump’s appellate odds “highly unlikely.”“The First Department [appellate court] would only do that if it thought there was a very substantial legal error by the court that would require it,” Grasso told Courthouse News. “It’s something that is highly unusual.”Grasso, who attended every day of the six-week trial as a spectator, said Merchan was right not to recuse himself and was “abundantly fair to both sides.”“Based on my knowledge of the case and the prevailing law, I would expect the felony conviction of President Trump to be upheld,” he said.Trump has been particularly litigious in his efforts to invalidate his conviction. He tried on numerous occasions to move the case from state court to federal court — even after his sentencing — on the basis that he should have been shielded from prosecution for official acts.At every turn, those efforts were rebuffed by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.“There is no way that discussions regarding hush money payments to cover up the president’s relations with Stormy Daniels could be an official act. An affair, or a cover-up of an affair, is not within the ‘outer perimeter’ of the president’s official responsibilities,’” Hellerstein, a Bill Clinton appointee who died at age 92 on Oct. 28, said in his most recent ruling on the matter this past summer.Several of Trump’s trial lawyers have been appointed to high-level government roles during his second presidential administration. Todd Blanche is now the U.S. Attorney General, and Emil Bove is an appellate judge in the Third Circuit.The case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who said the underlying coverup was part of Trump’s broader scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads