NEW YORK – President Donald Trump formally appealed his May 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records Monday night, arguing in a sweeping 96-page brief to the New York Appellate Division, First Department, that the U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling demands the verdict be tossed—potentially erasing his status as the nation’s first convicted felon to hold the Oval Office.
The filing, submitted just before midnight, recycles arguments Trump has hammered since the Manhattan jury’s unanimous guilty verdict in the hush money case, which stemmed from a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence her about an alleged 2006 affair ahead of the 2016 election. Trump’s lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP blasted the prosecution as a “politically charged” witch hunt orchestrated by Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg, claiming it relied on “convoluted” theories and time-barred misdemeanors elevated to felonies.
At the heart of the appeal is the Supreme Court’s July 2024 decision in Trump v. United States, which granted presidents “absolute immunity” for core official acts and presumptive immunity for other presidential conduct. Trump’s team contends the trial, presided over by Justice Juan Merchan, “fatally marred” the proceedings by admitting evidence tied to his first-term actions—such as testimony from former White House communications director Hope Hicks about conversations with Trump, and his social media posts on the matter. “The Supreme Court has made clear that such evidence cannot be used against a President,” the brief states, urging the court to vacate the conviction outright.
The lawyers also renewed calls for Merchan’s recusal, citing his small political donations to Democratic causes as creating an “appearance of partiality.” They argued prosecutors failed to prove “intent to defraud” under New York law and that federal campaign finance rules preempted the state’s felony elevation. “This case should never have seen the inside of a courtroom, let alone resulted in a conviction,” the filing concludes.
Trump, who was sentenced in January to an unconditional discharge—no jail, no fine, no probation—faced few tangible repercussions from the verdict, even winning reelection in November as a convicted felon. Yet the stain persists, barring him from certain professional licenses and complicating international travel. A successful appeal could nullify it entirely, though legal experts view the odds as long given Merchan’s prior rejection of immunity claims during post-trial motions.
In a parallel bid, Trump’s attorneys are pressing a federal appeals court in Manhattan to wrest the case from state jurisdiction, reclassifying it as a federal matter tied to his presidency. That maneuver, if granted, would open a fast-track to the Supreme Court for a final immunity showdown. An earlier federal bid was rebuffed by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who dismissed it as an end-run around state authority.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team hailed the state appeal as a “powerhouse” effort, declaring: “The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the Federal and New York State Constitutions, and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately overturned and dismissed.”
Bragg’s office has not yet responded, but the DA previously defended the case as a straightforward matter of concealing election-influencing payments, unrelated to official presidential duties. The Appellate Division, which in August tossed a $500 million civil fraud penalty against Trump in a separate case brought by Attorney General Letitia James, could take months to rule—likely extending into 2026.
As the appeals grind on, the saga underscores the unprecedented legal entanglements shadowing Trump’s return to power. For now, the president remains a felon on paper, a footnote his team is racing to redact.
