Lawyers for former President Donald Trump elevated their request to move his New York criminal case to federal court Monday evening, telling an appeals court that he is immune from prosecution for actions taken while in office.
Citing the July 1 Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, Trump’s legal team told the U.S. Appeals Court for the 2nd Circuit that the charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat, relate to official acts performed during Trump’s presidency, which should be shielded from prosecution.
“President Trump is subject to an unlawful prior restraint,” Trump attorney Todd Blanche wrote in a 99-page filing, citing several problems, including “2019 evidence indicating that [the trial judge] previously criticized President Trump’s use of Twitter, which is a central issue in the Presidential immunity motion.”
This latest request follows a previous attempt in August to move the criminal hush money case to federal court after a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records in May.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Trump’s post-conviction removal effort in September, where the former president had similarly tethered his argument to the Trump v. United States immunity decision.
Trump’s lawyers maintain that the use of evidence related to his official presidential duties during grand jury proceedings and at trial violates constitutional protections for the office of the president.