Lawyers for Donald Trump have requested that the hush money trial in Manhattan be moved to federal court, which could result in the former president receiving a more sympathetic judge, according to legal experts.
On Thursday, the New York Times reported that one of Trump's lawyers, Todd Blanche, filed a document in court asking the judge to move the case involving the former president and alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, to federal court instead of the New York State Supreme Court. Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing in the case.
The move comes after Trump appeared in a Manhattan courtroom following an indictment by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who charged the former president with 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.
"The People of the State of New York allege that Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election," Bragg said in a statement on April 4 announcing the indictment of Trump.
A spokesperson for Trump told Newsweek on Thursday, "It is imperative this case is tried fairly and moved to federal court because it is the most appropriate venue" in regard to the request to move the trial.
Neama Rahmani, the President of West Coast Trial Lawyers and former federal prosecutor told Newsweek on Thursday that "these are broad generalizations, but the conventional wisdom is that federal judges are more conservative, so defendants generally prefer to be in federal court instead of state court."
"District judges as a whole are more experienced (older) and more likely to dismiss lawsuits or claims as a matter of law. They have more and better law clerks who can research complex legal issues. They are appointed for life, and can only be removed if impeached by the Senate, so they feel less political pressure when making rulings. Republican presidents have also done a better job appointing and getting judges confirmed, so the federal judiciary leans slightly conservative," Rahmani told Newsweek. "In Trump's case, he wants a conservative judge, which is why his lawyers removed the case to federal court."
Michael McAuliffe, a former elected state attorney and federal prosecutor told Newsweek that the request by Trump's legal team "is simply another publicity balloon."
"Any removal of a state criminal case to federal court is based on a specific federal statute. That statute is extremely narrow in scope," McAuliffe told Newsweek.
According to McAuliffe, the provision allows some federal officials to "seek removal of the state case to federal court," if they are charged with state crimes.
"By the plain language of the statute, the Trump prosecution for business document fraud doesn't apply. The public can wait and see what the motion filed in federal court states, but folks should not hold their breath about the outcome," McAuliffe told Newsweek.
Correction: 05/05/23, 9 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to correct McAuliffe's title.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
