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A New York appellate court heard arguments on Thursday from former President Donald Trump’s legal team seeking to overturn a 2025 conviction for allegedly hiding a $130,000 payment to adult‑film actress Stormy Daniels. The payment was made in 2016 while Trump was campaigning for the presidency, and prosecutors say it was intended to keep Daniels quiet about a sexual relationship. Trump was charged in 2024 with 34 counts of falsifying business records in a Manhattan county court. Judge Juan Merchan sentenced him in January 2025 to “unconditional liberty,” a sentence that does not include jail time, fines or supervised release. The conviction made Trump the first former U.S. president to be found guilty of a crime. Trump has denied the allegations and has unsuccessfully attempted to move the case to a federal court. His new attorneys, Robert Giuffra, Todd Blanche (former U.S. Attorney General) and Emil Bove III (federal judge), presented arguments to the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division. Both the defense and the prosecution answered questions from a panel of five judges. Giuffra’s brief, filed on October 16, argues that the payment should have been governed by federal election laws, which he claims trump state court procedures. He also contends that prosecutors violated Trump’s presidential immunity and failed to prove that Trump intended to defraud. “The question here is whether the statements and strategy presented by the White House in response to the public allegations of personal misconduct that directly affect the president’s integrity and fitness for office were official,” the brief states. The prosecution maintains that the 2016 hush‑money scheme was a conspiracy to defraud the American public and government regulators. The case may proceed to the New York Court of Appeals and potentially to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to CBS News. Article source: El Nuevo Diario | Image credit: El Nuevo Diario
A New York appellate court heard arguments on Thursday from former President Donald Trump’s legal team seeking to overturn a 2025 conviction for allegedly hiding a $130,000 payment to adult‑film actress Stormy Daniels. The payment was made in 2016 while Trump was campaigning for the presidency, and prosecutors say it was intended to keep Daniels quiet about a sexual relationship. Trump was charged in 2024 with 34 counts of falsifying business records in a Manhattan county court. Judge Juan Merchan sentenced him in January 2025 to “unconditional liberty,” a sentence that does not include jail time, fines or supervised release. The conviction made Trump the first former U.S. president to be found guilty of a crime. Trump has denied the allegations and has unsuccessfully attempted to move the case to a federal court. His new attorneys, Robert Giuffra, Todd Blanche (former U.S. Attorney General) and Emil Bove III (federal judge), presented arguments to the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division. Both the defense and the prosecution answered questions from a panel of five judges. Giuffra’s brief, filed on October 16, argues that the payment should have been governed by federal election laws, which he claims trump state court procedures. He also contends that prosecutors violated Trump’s presidential immunity and failed to prove that Trump intended to defraud. “The question here is whether the statements and strategy presented by the White House in response to the public allegations of personal misconduct that directly affect the president’s integrity and fitness for office were official,” the brief states. The prosecution maintains that the 2016 hush‑money scheme was a conspiracy to defraud the American public and government regulators. The case may proceed to the New York Court of Appeals and potentially to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to CBS News.
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