Donald Trump appeals New York felony conviction in hush money case, says trial was ‘fatally flawed’

It was alleged that the payment was made by Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to silence Daniels’s story of an alleged affair before the 2016 election. Trump later reimbursed Cohen for the payment.

According to New York state law, falsifying business records becomes a felony if it was done to commit or conceal another crime.

Trump unconditionally discharged

In January, Trump was sentenced to what’s known as an unconditional discharge, wherein he did not serve any jail term or other punishments, but the conviction remained on his record.

What Trump’s lawyers argued

In the appeal, Trump’s lawyers argued that the charges were politically motivated and unprecedented.

“The DA, a Democrat, brought those charges in the middle of a contentious Presidential election in which President Trump was the leading Republican candidate. These charges against President Trump were as unprecedented as their political context,” Trump’s attorneys argued, according to ABC News.

They also accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of trying to “twist New York law” to persuade the jury that Trump violated election statutes.

“Targeting alleged conduct that has never been found to violate any New York law, the DA concocted a purported felony by stacking time-barred misdemeanours under a convoluted legal theory, which the DA then improperly obscured until the charge conference. This case should never have seen the inside of a courtroom, let alone resulted in a conviction,” the appeal said.

They further argued that the judge who presided over the case should have recused himself over his political contributions and “disqualifying family conflicts.”

“Like every criminal defendant in a New York courtroom, President Trump was entitled to a fair trial before a properly instructed jury and a neutral judge. Instead, he was convicted after a trial that featured repeated and clear violations of his constitutional rights, federal law, and New York law, presided over by a judge who was required to recuse,” they argued.