President Trump filed an appeal in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against him, demanding that it be tossed out. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in April 2023.
“This is the most politically charged prosecution in our Nation’s history,” the filing declares. “After years of fruitless investigation into decade-old, baseless allegations— and under immense political pressure to criminally charge President Donald J. Trump for something—New York’s district attorney (DANY) manufactured felony charges against a once-former and now-sitting President of the United States.”
“Targeting alleged conduct that has never been found to violate any New York law, the DA concocted a purported felony by stacking time barred misdemeanors under a convoluted legal theory, which the DA then improperly obscured until the charge conference,” the document states. “This case should never have seen the inside of a courtroom, let alone resulted in a conviction.”
The filing goes on to assert that “the evidence was clearly insufficient to convict.”
“In addition to all this overwhelming error, the trial was conducted by a judge who refused to recuse himself despite having made political contributions to President Trump’s electoral opponents and despite having disqualifying family conflicts,” the document reads. “For each of these independent reasons, President Trump’s conviction must be set aside.”
Last year, Bragg told Judge Juan Merchan to postpone the sentencing in President-elect Donald Trump’s business record case. “The People deeply respect the Office of the President, are mindful of the demands and obligations of the presidency and acknowledge that Defendant’s inauguration will raise unprecedented legal questions,” prosecutors wrote. “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.”
“Given the need to balance competing constitutional interests, consideration must be given to various non-dismissal options that may address any concerns raised by the pendency of a post-trial criminal proceeding during the presidency, such as deferral of all remaining criminal proceedings until after the end of Defendant’s upcoming presidential term,” Bragg added.
