Trump’s Last-Ditch Effort To Delay Sentencing ‘Incorrectly Filed’—Attorney

Donald Trump failed in his latest attempt to move his falsifying business records sentencing to federal court due to a filing error, a legal expert has noted.

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance described how the former president’s lawyer Todd Blanche “embarrassingly” did not follow the correct protocols while submitting their latest legal argument, and said that it had been “incorrectly filed.”

On August 29, Trump’s legal team sought to move the hush money sentencing, currently scheduled for September 18, out of a New York state court and into a federal court. The move was seen as another delay tactic by the former president to stave off his sentencing until after November’s election against Kamala Harris, or have the case dismissed altogether.

The request was denied the next day by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. The court’s clerk wrote that it had been filed under the “wrong event type” and did not include an “order granting permission to file the pleading” or an order granting “leave” by the state court.

Writing in her Civil Discourse blog, Vance described Trump’s latest attempt to have his falsifying business records case moved as it involves actions he took while president.

“Trump tried a last-ditch effort to prevent Judge Juan Merchan from sentencing him in the Manhattan DA’s case, filing a motion to remove the case to federal court,” Vance wrote.

“Not only is it a little bit late for that, Trump’s lawyer embarrassingly failed to jump through the procedural hoops necessary to have the court hear it.”

“The Judge rejected Trump’s request without issuing a formal order. The court’s clerk noted on the docket that Trump had incorrectly filed under the ‘wrong event type’ and without an ‘order granting permission to file the pleading’ or an order granting ‘leave’ by the state court.”

Vance added that Trump’s lawyer still has the opportunity to try and file the motion properly, meaning they will need permission to file at this late date.

“Trump always turns to delay as a legal strategy, and here, he seems desperate to prevent Judge Merchan from sentencing him on schedule on September 18,” Vance wrote. “That means it’s likely we’ll see more maneuvering on this issue this week.”

Trump’s legal team has been contacted for comment via email.

Judge Merchan is set to rule on whether the Supreme Court’s ruling, which granted Trump some presidential immunity for official acts committed in office, affects the hush money case.

In May, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records over allegations he instructed his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep an alleged affair she and Trump had a secret ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

In July 2023, Hellerstein rejected Trump’s request to move the historic falsifying business records trial into a federal court.

Hellerstein wrote that the allegations in the case were “purely a personal item of the president—a cover-up of an embarrassing event,” and that “hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president’s official acts.”