US President Donald Trump has filed an appeal to overturn his May 2024 criminal conviction in the hush-money payment case, arguing he is shielded by presidential immunity.
Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records by a unanimous jury in New York.
In December, citing Trump's imminent return to the White House, a New York judge sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge, meaning he would not serve time or pay a fine.
"This case should never have seen the inside of a courtroom, let alone resulted in a conviction," Trump's lawyers said in the latest filing.
Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records by a unanimous jury in New York.
In December, citing Trump's imminent return to the White House, a New York judge sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge, meaning he would not serve time or pay a fine.
"This case should never have seen the inside of a courtroom, let alone resulted in a conviction," Trump's lawyers said in the latest filing.
They described the case as "the most politically charged prosecution in our nation's history".
The Manhattan District Attorneys' office, which prosecuted Trump, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors alleged that in the days before the 2016 election, Trump instructed his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay $130,000 in hush money to the adult film star Stormy Daniels so she would stay silent about allegations of a sexual encounter with Trump.
The hush-money payment was not illegal, but prosecutors said that when Trump reimbursed Cohen the payments were fraudulently recorded as legal expenses in order to disguise their true nature.
The spring 2024 trial played out in tandem with Trump's re-election campaign.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that disguising the payments amounted to a form of election interference as they kept Daniels' allegations from voters. Trump denied the charges and any wrongdoing.
The Manhattan District Attorneys' office, which prosecuted Trump, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors alleged that in the days before the 2016 election, Trump instructed his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay $130,000 in hush money to the adult film star Stormy Daniels so she would stay silent about allegations of a sexual encounter with Trump.
The hush-money payment was not illegal, but prosecutors said that when Trump reimbursed Cohen the payments were fraudulently recorded as legal expenses in order to disguise their true nature.
The spring 2024 trial played out in tandem with Trump's re-election campaign.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that disguising the payments amounted to a form of election interference as they kept Daniels' allegations from voters. Trump denied the charges and any wrongdoing.
I would have expected the appeal to have been filed a long time ago.
At the sentencing Trump argued that other people did the accounting and he had little to do with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment