President Donald Trump’s appeal of his New York conviction was scheduled for consideration by a state appeals court Thursday, Nov. 5, with presidential immunity and trial evidence at issue, The Independent reported.
The appeal also concerns evidence tied to Trump’s first term, including social media posts, conversations with aides and accounts of White House work routines, the outlet reported. In an October filing, Trump attorney Robert Giuffra Jr. argued that Trump’s response to personal allegations after the Stormy Daniels matter became public in 2018, along with discussions with aides, fell within presidential duties protected by immunity.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office says the evidence was properly admitted. In a July filing, appeals chief Steven Wu argued that an adviser’s involvement did not make discussion of a private matter an official act protected by immunity, according to The Independent.
The case involved a $130,000 payment Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer at the time, made to Daniels weeks before the 2016 election. Trump’s company reimbursed Cohen in 2017 and recorded the payments as legal expenses, the outlet reported. Prosecutors said the payments were intended to keep unflattering information from voters and alleged that Trump orchestrated a conspiracy violating federal campaign-finance laws, among other statutes. Separately, New York law makes falsifying business records a felony only when done with intent to commit or conceal another crime. Trump denies wrongdoing; his trial lawyers argued the evidence that he knew about Cohen’s dealings was weak.
The jury’s May 2024 verdict found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts related to business records. The verdict made him the first former U.S. president to have a criminal conviction; he later returned to the White House. The Independent reported that the conviction carried no punishment.
Trump is also pursuing a separate federal appeal after a judge rejected his bid to move the case to federal court and dismiss it on immunity grounds. The judge rejected that effort in August for the third time, the outlet reported. Arguments in the federal appeal are scheduled for Nov. 16.
