Trump asks federal court to delay sentencing in New York state hush money trial

HOUSTON, US

Attorneys for Donald Trump asked a federal court late Thursday to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case in order to delay sentencing and seek to toss the former president’s felony conviction for paying off adult film star Stormy Daniels and covering it up as a business expense.

Sentencing is scheduled for next month, but Trump's lawyers are asking to move the case to federal court to give him an "unbiased forum, free from local hostilities," according to media outlets.

His attorneys said the historic criminal prosecution of Trump violated his constitutional rights and did not adhere to the Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity.

"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," said his lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove in their court filing.

The Supreme Court's July 1 ruling basically limits the scope of prosecutions of ex-presidents for official acts and restricts prosecutors in pointing to official acts as evidence that a president’s unofficial actions were illegal.

Since Trump's May 30 conviction, his legal team has been seeking a pathway to having the verdict overturned and the case dismissed. They said that if the proceedings are not delayed and remain in state court as scheduled, it could amount to election interference leading up to the Nov. 5 presidential election against Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

Trump’s attorneys had invoked presidential immunity last year in a failed bid to get the hush money case moved to federal court. US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected Trump’s claim that allegations in the hush money indictment involved official duties, saying, "the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was purely a personal item of the president — a cover-up of an embarrassing event."

"Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president’s official acts," said Hellerstein. "It does not reflect in any way the color of the president’s official duties."

Trump was found guilty in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the 2016 hush money payment in order to benefit his 2016 presidential bid.

It is unclear if the federal court will consider Trump's legal team's new motion, since the state court denied the former president's original attempt to have the case removed.