Trump asks federal court to take over Bragg case weeks before sentencing
Lawyers representing former President Donald Trump are now asking a federal court to seize his New York criminal trial from the state, arguing he has become a victim of “Constitutional violations” in proceedings that conflicted with 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.
“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 bid to overturn his conviction.
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Former President Donald Trump, left, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump’s attorneys said in his New York criminal trial, 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.” (Emily Elconin/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
In May, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, following a six-week trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into alleged hush money payments ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
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.”
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“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,” they said.
Judge Juan Merchan has delayed former President Donald Trump’s sentencing date to Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
“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 that “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.”
Former President Donald Trump responds to a question from a reporter after his remarks on Aug. 20 at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office in Howell, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
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A federal judge already has rejected one attempt by Trump to move the criminal case away from New York state court, ruling in July 2023 that “Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a President’s official acts” and that it “does not reflect in any way the color of the President’s official duties,” according to The Associated Press.
