August 30, 2024 Former President Donald J. Trump filed an unusual request late Thursday night: to transfer his criminal case from state court in Manhattan to federal court, three months after conviction in the hush-money scandal that is scheduled for sentencing on September 18, with weeks to go before the presidential election.
On this very ground, the legal team representing Trump, through attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, filed a request. The lawyers said it would be “irreparable harm” to Trump, who is also a Republican candidate in the presidential election to be held in 2024. Besides this, the case has the potential to affect all voters throughout the nation and not only those who hail from Manhattan.
All in all, it is an unheard-of transfer of a criminal matter by federal prosecutors at the request of an attorney, especially in a case in which the result has been adjudicated in state court. Trump is asking the court to do this after he was convicted of falsifying business records in attempts to cover up a scandal involving payments to a porn star. The case had drawn national attention and has been one of the heavy legal challenges for the former president.
This act by Trump is considered his last chance in order to try and avoid sentencing. This was scheduled to take place in a couple of weeks. In the event that Trump gets sentenced on September 18, it is a big deal because it falls just seven weeks before the presidential election pitting him against Vice President Kamala Harris.
This motion to transfer the case to federal court is not the first such legal move by Trump’s team. On August 15, lawyers for Trump filed a request with Judge Juan M. Merchan, the judge presiding over the trial, to put back the sentencing date. They said that time is needed to appeal Trump’s conviction on the basis of a recent Supreme Court decision that gives the president immunity in all cases involving official acts. They also believe this ruling might be applied to reverse Trump’s conviction.
However, lawyers for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which convicted Trump on May 30, dispute that contention. They say the Supreme Court ruling has “no bearing” on the case. The case has to do with Trump’s attempts to cover up the scandal, and nothing to do with any duties as president, they said.
However, the DA’s office has left discretion on delaying the sentence to Judge Merchan, meaning they are not necessarily opposing it, even as they do not agree with Trump’s legal team in support of the delay. That leaves the way clear for the judge possibly pushing the sentencing past the election.
The grant of Trump’s request to remove the case to federal court would have a meaningful impact on the timeline in the case: federal courts have different rules and procedures that might delay sentencing. That could push sentencing beyond the election-a circumstance that would give Trump more time to focus on the campaign.
Otherwise, unless the application is denied, Trump will be sentenced in state court on September 18-a process with potentially huge ramifications for his campaign. The closer a sentencing is to the election, it could make all the difference in how people vote and thus in the outcome for the presidency.
The request to remove Trump’s case to federal court is a brazen legal strategy on the part of Trump to delay his sentencing. The presidential election is looming, and this may make a difference to Trump and possibly the nation when this request is ruled upon. As the legal battle goes ahead, all eyes will now be on how the courts take the latest move forward by the former president.
