WASHINGTON, 8 November (H.S.): In an extraordinary legal maneuver, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally urged a New York state appeals court to throw out President Donald Trump's 2024 hush money conviction. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed on Friday, the DOJ argued that the conviction was based on improper evidence and a legal theory that is preempted by federal law, representing a significant intervention by the federal government in a state-level criminal case.
The DOJ's filing supports Trump's ongoing appeal of his May 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels . A central pillar of the argument is the landmark July 2024 Supreme Court ruling that granted presidents broad immunity from prosecution for their official acts.
The DOJ contends that evidence of Trump's official acts as president, such as discussions with then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, should have been inadmissible at trial and that their inclusion can never be harmless.
This move comes a day after a federal appeals court revived Trump's bid to move the case from state to federal court, ordering a lower court to reconsider the request in light of the Supreme Court's immunity decision. Such a transfer could potentially fast-track Trump's efforts to have the conviction expunged.
The trial judge, Juan Merchan, had previously denied such a move, but the new legal landscape created by the Supreme Court's ruling has provided Trump's legal team with fresh avenues for appeal.
In January, Judge Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge, a rare sentence intended to minimize disruption as Trump prepared for his second term in the White House. The Manhattan District Attorney's office, which prosecuted the case, has declined to comment on the DOJ's recent filing.
The state appeals process is expected to be lengthy, but the DOJ's intervention adds a new and powerful dynamic to the legal battle over the historic conviction of a sitting president.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
