Federal Appeals Court to Decide If Trump Can Argue for Hush-Money Case to Be Moved to Federal Court
Source: NPR
A federal appeals court is set to consider whether former President Donald Trump can make another attempt to move his hush-money case from New York state court to federal court. This follows a previous rejection of Trump’s request by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, CNN reported.
Trump’s legal team filed a new request after Hellerstein denied his initial bid last month, which sought to move the criminal case into the federal system. The move was based on a Supreme Court ruling this summer related to presidential immunity. According to Trump’s Monday night filing, the district court’s earlier decision “misapplied binding precedent” and ignored key evidence supporting the case’s transfer under the federal officer removal statute.
“On September 3, the district court issued a conclusory summary remand order that misapplied binding precedent and statutory removal procedure, ignored key evidence supporting the Second Removal Notice, and misapprehended the obligation of federal courts to provide an unbiased federal forum for fair litigation of federal defenses,” Trump’s filing stated, as reported by CNN.
In his previous ruling, Hellerstein made it clear that the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity did not change his assessment of the case. He argued that the hush-money payments, which are central to Trump’s 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, were private and “outside the bounds of executive authority.”
However, Trump’s attorneys now argue that the judge overlooked key aspects of the Supreme Court’s ruling. They claim Hellerstein improperly evaluated the merits of Trump’s presidential immunity defense during what should have been a simpler review of whether the case qualified for federal court. According to the new filing, this led to the judge incorrectly stating that the Supreme Court’s decision had no bearing on the case.
Trump’s legal team is asking the appeals court to order the lower court to reconsider whether the federal court is the proper venue for the hush-money case. The case, which centers on payments Trump allegedly made to silence allegations during the 2016 election, has been delayed until November 26—just weeks after the November 5 Election Day.
The outcome of this appeal could impact the legal proceedings significantly, as Trump’s team pushes for the case to be handled in the federal system rather than in New York state court.
