Former President Donald Trump moved to dismiss his request to move the criminal case against him in Manhattan to federal court, on Tuesday, listing no reason in the brief filing.
“Donald J. Trump, by and through undersigned counsel, respectfully moves this Court, pursuant to FRAP 42(b), to dismiss his appeal in this case. Upon information and belief, to date the government has not borne any costs in this matter,” it reads. The new motion was filed in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In April, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg unsealed a 34-count indictment against the 45th president, alleging he falsified business records to cover up bribery payments.
Defense attorneys had previously argued that President Trump should be tried in federal court because he was president at the time of the actions he is being charged for. U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee, had ruled in July that he failed to act “under the color of the official acts of President.”
Michael Cohen
The investigation began after Michael Cohen, formerly the personal attorney of President Trump, publicly made several allegations of criminal conduct. Mr. Cohen, who had also been an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, broke very publicly with his former boss in 2018, and now there are two cases against President Trump in New York that began as a result of claims he made around that time.
Mr. Cohen spoke publicly about how adult performer Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, threatened to go public, right before the 2016 presidential elections, with claims she'd had an affair with the Republican front-runner a decade prior. Mr. Cohen made a $130,000 hush-money payment to Ms. Clifford, which he said was on behalf of his boss. President Trump has denied that the affair occurred.
These claims led to Mr. Bragg’s investigation of the matter and the subsequent charges.
Mr. Cohen had also claimed that President Trump artificially inflated his net worth, alleging he did so on financial statements given to banks in order to obtain better loan terms. This led to an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James, which led to a civil petition brought last September accusing President Trump of defrauding the state. The trial began on Oct. 2, and is expected to last through mid-December.
Mr. Cohen testified over two days in the civil case, and defense attorneys have sought to impeach him as a witness, pointing out that Mr. Cohen admitted, during his testimony, that he lied several times while under oath, and then backtracked on his testimony the same day.
Casting Mr. Cohen as a “serial liar” in the civil case recently may have led to a change in defense strategy in the criminal case.
While seeking removal of the criminal case to federal court, defense attorneys argued that the indictment alleges President Trump illegally changed business records in 2017, after taking office. They previewed various federal defenses they were prepared to use, including that he hired Mr. Cohen to handle his personal affairs “as a direct result” of assuming office as president, and sought to keep business and personal matters separate.
