An attorney for former President Trump said Thursday his legal team would seek to move his Manhattan criminal case to federal court.
The move is being seen as a long-shot bid to get the trial out of state court where the indictment was brought, and put it before a jury pool consisting of a different political make-up than what Trump’s defense team believes their client would face in Manhattan.
Trump attorneys face a Thursday deadline for filing paperwork listing their arguments for moving the trial. That’s 30 days after Trump was arraigned on 34 felony counts—brought by a Manhattan grand jury—of falsifying business records and conspiracy related to his role in hush money payments during the 2016 campaign season.
Once the Trump attorneys file their paperwork, a federal judge would rule whether the case can be moved.
The criminal arraignment of a former U.S. President is unprecedented in U.S. history. The arraignment against Trump in Manhattan could potentially open the door for other prosecutors as Trump is under criminal investigation not just in New York, but also in Georgia and the federal government for his role in attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents after he left the White House.
Another Manhattan jury is currently hearing a sexual battery and defamation lawsuit brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll, who alleges he raped her in a department store dressing room in 1996.
PHOTO Source: C-Span
