Where Trump's hush money appeal stands two years since conviction
Nearly two years after a Manhattan jury found President Donald Trump guilty on 34 felony counts in the New York hush money case, the legal battle to erase the president’s lone criminal conviction remains alive across multiple courts, even as the political moment that surrounded the historic verdict has largely faded into history.
TL;DR
- Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts in the New York hush money case remains unresolved almost two years later.
- Trump's legal team is pursuing appeals in both New York state court and a separate effort to move the case to federal court on presidential immunity grounds.
- Key arguments in the appeals include the claim that state prosecutors improperly used an alleged federal campaign finance violation to elevate misdemeanor charges to felonies.
- The defense also argues that evidence used in the trial, related to Trump's official acts as president, cannot be used following the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling.
- Experts like Alan Dershowitz and Kellen Dwyer have expressed skepticism about the original case and highlighted the potential significance of the immunity and federal law preemption arguments.
- A federal court strategy is also underway, seeking to move the case from state to federal court, with a decision pending from U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.
- The delays in rulings are attributed to the unusual procedural posture and the potential for one court's decision to moot the other.