A federal appeals court has reopened a potential path to dismissing President Donald Trump’s controversial hush money conviction, a major development that could upend the first criminal verdict ever rendered against a U.S. president.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit revived Trump’s bid to move the case out of New York state court and into federal court—where he plans to argue that the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity shields him from prosecution for actions connected to his time in office.
The appeals panel said it “cannot be confident” that the lower court properly evaluated Trump’s arguments before rejecting his request last year.
“The court bypassed what we consider to be important issues bearing on the ultimate issue of good cause,” the panel wrote.
The judges did not express an opinion on whether Trump’s strategy should prevail, but sent the case back to the lower court for further review.
“We leave it to the able and experienced District Judge to decide whether to solicit further briefing from the parties or hold a hearing to help it resolve these issues,” the panel added.
Trump’s team has long maintained that the Manhattan prosecution was politically motivated and orchestrated by Democratic officials seeking to damage his 2024 campaign. The conviction—34 counts of falsifying business records—stemmed from what prosecutors described as a “hush money” payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the alleged affair and consistently argued that the payments were legal expenses.
The move to federal court, if successful, could provide a new venue for Trump to challenge what many conservatives view as an abuse of prosecutorial power and a double standard in the justice system. The Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision in July strengthened Trump’s position, establishing that presidents are entitled to significant constitutional protections against criminal prosecution for official acts.
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