Trump will seek to move Manhattan hush-money trial to federal court
Donald Trump is seeking to move his criminal case from New York State Supreme Court to federal court, one of his lawyers said on Thursday.
One month after appearing in a Manhattan courtroom, where state prosecutors accused him of committing 34 felonies by falsifying documents to cover up a potential sex scandal, Trump will soon seek the legal change of scenery in a court filing.
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The former president’s legal team will submit the so-called notice of removal in federal court in Manhattan, where a judge will then consider the request.
The lawyer, Todd Blanche, disclosed the plan during an unrelated hearing on the criminal case in state court. The hearing concerned an effort by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting Trump, to restrict the ways that the former president can access and speak about evidence from his case.
The effort to move the case to federal court, which is likely to be a long shot, will not have any immediate effect on the state case.
The federal judge who considers the request could reject it on its face. But even if the judge finds the request worthy of consideration and orders a hearing, the state case will continue unhindered for now.
At the hearing on Thursday, the state court judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, asked prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers to agree on a specific date for Trump’s trial in either February or March of next year. If that schedule becomes final, the trial will unfold in the thick of the presidential campaign, in which Trump is a leading contender.
The judge also signaled that he would restrict Trump from disseminating a narrow portion of the evidence in the criminal case, as proposed by the district attorney, Alvin Bragg — a significant victory for prosecutors.
Bragg will undoubtedly oppose the former president’s effort to remove the criminal case to federal court. And such requests for a change of venue are rarely granted in criminal cases.
