Trump asks federal court to delay sentencing in his New York hush money case

(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is seeking to delay the upcoming sentencing in his New York hush money case by again asking a federal court in New York to take up the case in light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.

In a 60-page filing Thursday, Trump’s lawyers urged the court to reconsider his argument to remove the case from state court to federal court ahead of the former president’s Sept. 18 sentencing.

“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,” defense lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote in the filing.

Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election. In a subsequent decision last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken as president.

It’s unclear if the federal court will consider Trump’s new motion, since U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Trump’s original attempt to have the case removed in July 2023 when the former president argued that the case centered on his official acts while in office.

“Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a President’s official acts. It does not reflect in any way the color of the President’s official duties,” Hellerstein wrote in that ruling.

Trump’s lawyers are now arguing that multiple Supreme Court decisions this year — including the court’s rulings on presidential immunity and Chevron deference — “add force” to Trump’s argument for removal and immunity.

“The groundbreaking Presidential immunity issues arising from Trump v. United States are alone a sufficient basis to grant this removal application,” Thursday’s filing said.

Trump’s lawyers raised familiar arguments about the kind of “official-acts evidence” they believe tainted the former president’s New York trial, including the testimony of White House former communications director Hope Hicks and the use of Trump’s tweets while president as evidence. Defense lawyers also repeated previously unsuccessful arguments about the alleged bias of the judge overseeing the case.

“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 filing said.

Defense lawyers repeatedly mentioned the timing of Trump’s sentencing throughout their filing and warned about the impact of Trump’s potential imprisonment, though most legal experts believe Trump is unlikely to serve any sentence until after the election.

“The impending election cannot be redone. The currently unaddressed harm to the Presidency resulting from this improper prosecution will adversely impact the operations of the federal government for generations,” the filing said.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment on the filing.