Trump seeking to move hush money criminal case to federal court
Donald Trump's lawyer said Thursday the former president will seek to move his New York criminal case to federal court, a long-shot bid to avoid a trial in the state court where the indictment was brought.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, said at a hearing on an unrelated issue in the case that Trump’s defense team plans to file a motion Thursday asking to transfer the historic case from state court to federal court.
Such a move, while rare, would have significant advantages for Trump, including a broader, more politically diverse jury pool than in Manhattan, where voters have heavily favored his Democratic rivals.
Trump’s lawyers face a Thursday deadline to file paperwork listing their grounds for moving the case — 30 days after the April 4 state court arraignment where he pleaded not guilty a month ago to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
A federal judge would then have to rule whether the case can be moved.
Trump’s charges, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, are related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan previously investigated those arrangements and only charged one person: Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments.
Trump, a Republican, has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
At Thursday's hearing, regarding potential limitations on Trump’s access to certain evidence, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan asked Trump’s lawyers and the prosecution to confer and agree on a trial date in either February or March 2024.
Barring removal to federal court, that could land Trump, who's currently making a comeback run for the White House, in court during next year’s party primaries.