Trump makes desperate push to erase his 34 felony convictions after midterm blowout

A New York appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday on whether to overturn Donald Trump's May 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, a verdict that made him the first U.S. president with a criminal record. It carried no punishment and did not keep him from returning to the White House, according to The Independent.

Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office say Trump disguised reimbursements to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who had paid adult film performer Stormy Daniels $130,000 weeks before the 2016 election to keep her quiet about an alleged encounter, which Trump denies. Trump's attorneys call the prosecution's theory a house of cards, describe the evidence of his knowledge as weak, and say the payments protected his family from embarrassment rather than his campaign. They also contend that jurors wrongly heard about White House discussions that fall under presidential immunity. Steven Wu, Bragg's appeals chief, responded that private matters are not official acts and that other evidence was abundant.

Separately, a federal judge rejected Trump's bid to move the case to federal court for a third time in August. His appeal of that ruling is set for argument on Nov. 16.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →