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President Donald Trump on Monday formally asked a New York appeals court to overturn his felony conviction in the Manhattan hush money case, arguing that the trial that made him the first U.S. president convicted of a crime was unconstitutional and tainted by bias.
In a 96-page filing, Trump’s legal team repeated many of the same claims made before, during and after his 2024 trial — including that the case should be dismissed in light of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling and that Justice Juan Merchan, who oversaw the trial, should have recused himself because of small political donations and his daughter’s work with Democratic clients.
“This case should never have seen the inside of a courtroom, let alone resulted in a conviction,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the appeal filed by a six-member Sullivan & Cromwell team.
The appeal marks the latest in a string of legal efforts by Trump to erase his 34-count business fraud conviction stemming from payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records to conceal the hush money deal but faced no jail time after his January sentencing.
Despite the conviction, Trump went on to win reelection in November 2024, but remains legally classified as a felon unless the conviction is overturned.
Trump’s lawyers contend that prosecutors improperly relied on evidence that touched on his “official acts” as president, including communications with Hope Hicks, then the White House communications director, and Trump’s own social media posts. The team argued those materials should have been excluded under the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision expanding presidential immunity.
Justice Merchan previously ruled that the evidence in question related to Trump’s private conduct — not official duties — and was therefore admissible.
The appeal also renews Trump’s demand that Merchan be disqualified, citing his $35 in political donations to Democratic candidates in 2020 and his daughter’s work for a digital firm that has represented Democratic officials. Merchan sought guidance from the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics before the trial, which concluded that neither issue required recusal.
“We see nothing in the inquiry to suggest that the outcome of the case could have any effect on the judge’s relative, the relative’s business, or any of their interests,” the advisory panel said in its opinion.
Separately, Trump has also petitioned a federal appeals court to move the case from state to federal court — a step that could eventually allow him to ask the Supreme Court to void the conviction entirely.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the appeal.
