(RestoreAmericanGlory.com) – On Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors formally opposed former President Trump’s attempt to move the hush money criminal case against him from state to federal court. Earlier this month, Trump’s lawyers claimed that the case should not be tried in state court as the alleged incident took place during his time as president.
If the case was moved from state to federal court, then the potential jury pool could be increased beyond the limited pool of the predominantly Democratic population of Manhattan.
In the documents filed on Tuesday in Manhattan, prosecutors claimed that the case needed to remain in state court as it did not relate to any of Trump’s official duties and responsibilities as president but rather to his conduct in his private businesses prior to the election.
Trump is currently facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to a hush money payment made on his behalf by his then-lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen. The payment in question was $130,000 paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about her alleged affair with Trump in 2006, ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has denied the affair and pleaded not guilty on all counts.
As per federal law, it would be possible for the case to be moved from state to federal court if the allegations related to an official act or raised a “colorable federal defense.” Prosecutors claimed in their filing that the criminal conduct in this case relates to a pre-election scheme and should thus not be affected by Trump’s inauguration as it predates it. Prosecutors further claimed that the case is not connected to Trump’s presidential duties but rather to his attempt to conceal the information and reimbursement payments.
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