Appeals panel revives path to Trump dismissing criminal conviction

A path to dismissing President Trump’s hush money criminal conviction was reopened Thursday after an appeals panel revived his bid to move the case to federal court.

Trump wants to move the case out of New York state court so he can try to convince a federal judge that the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling compels tossing the jury’s 34-count guilty verdict. 

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that it “cannot be confident” a lower judge adequately considered Trump’s arguments as he sought to move the case.  

“The court bypassed what we consider to be important issues bearing on the ultimate issue of good cause,” the panel wrote.  

The panel emphasized it has no view on whether Trump’s strategy should ultimately succeed, only that the lower judge needs to reconsider his prior ruling. 

“We leave it to the able and experienced District Judge to decide whether to solicit further briefing from the parties or hold a hearing to help it resolve these issues,” the panel wrote. 

The panel comprised U.S. Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier and U.S. Circuit Judge Susan Carney, both appointed by former President Obama, and U.S. Circuit Judge Myrna Pérez, an appointee of former President Biden. 

Trump was convicted last year of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money scheme to keep quiet his alleged affair with porn actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.  

“President Trump continues to win in his fight against Radical Democrat Lawfare,” a spokesman for Trump’s legal team said in a statement. “The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the Federal and New York State Constitutions, and other established legal precedent mandate that the Witch Hunt perpetrated by the Manhattan DA be immediately overturned and dismissed."

"President Trump will keep defeating Democrat weaponization at every turn as he focuses on his singular mission to Make America Great Again," the spokesperson added.

The Hill requested comment from the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Trump has long argued he cannot get a fair shake in New York’s state court system and has repeatedly attacked the judge and jury that decided the case. 

His attorneys tried to move the prosecution to federal court once before at the onset of the case and failed.

Now back for a second attempt, Trump must show he has “good cause” to raise the argument so late. He points to how the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision last summer didn’t land until after his trial. 

The president does not claim to be immune from the 34 charges themselves, but he contends the jury saw protected evidence during the seven-week trial, including social media posts and testimony from White House aides. 

The appeals court Thursday ruled U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, an appointee of former President Clinton, hadn’t “adequately considered” the argument and will need to more closely review the evidence at issue. 

As Trump’s bid to move his case to federal court comes back to life, the president is simultaneously pursuing an appeal of his conviction in New York state court. 

Last week, his legal team submitted its written arguments to the state’s midlevel appeals court, calling his case the “most politically charged prosecution in our Nation’s history.” 

“This case should never have seen the inside of a courtroom, let alone resulted in a conviction,” his lawyers wrote.  

Updated at 10:41 a.m. EST