Judges Hear Trump Appeal of 2024 Criminal Hush Money Conviction in Manhattan
Appeal Comes Before Judges
Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to argue in a Manhattan courtroom that the conviction should be overturned. They must persuade a majority of a five-judge panel at the First Department of the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division.
The New York jury convicted Trump on 34 felony counts. Prosecutors said each count concerned a reimbursement to his lawyer that was recorded falsely to hide its purpose.
Arguments From Both Sides
Trump’s attorneys say the trial judge should have recused himself, that some trial evidence should have been shielded by presidential immunity, and that prosecutors misused New York law. In their filing, they called the case politically charged and said it should be reversed.
The Manhattan district attorney’s lawyers argue the conviction involved a crime routinely prosecuted in New York. They say the conduct was unofficial and that evidence not affected by presidential immunity established Trump’s guilt.
Case Reached 2024 Campaign
The case centered on an alleged effort to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment from Trump’s former lawyer to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. For six weeks in spring 2024, Trump, then the presumptive Republican nominee, attended court in Manhattan.
After winning the 2024 presidential election, Trump received an unconditional discharge, with his inauguration days away. He later appointed Todd Blanche, his lead defense lawyer at trial, as U.S. attorney general. At sentencing, Trump called the case a political effort to harm his reputation and said it had not cost him the election.
Key points
- A New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
- The appeal will be heard by a five-judge panel in Manhattan.
- Trump’s lawyers dispute the trial judge’s role and the use of evidence involving presidential immunity.
- Prosecutors say the conduct was unofficial and the conviction was supported by evidence.