Chicago – November 08, 2025
In a major legal twist, the U.S. Justice Department has urged a New York appeals court to overturn President Donald Trump’s hush money conviction, arguing that the case relied on improper evidence and violated federal law.
In a filing submitted Friday in Manhattan, the department supported Trump’s claim that he was entitled to immunity for official acts carried out during his presidency. It argued that allowing evidence related to those actions “can never be harmless” and should have been excluded from the trial.
Prosecutors had accused Trump of falsifying business records to conceal payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. But federal lawyers said jurors should not have considered whether the payment violated federal election laws, which fall outside state jurisdiction.
The filing cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling that presidents cannot be prosecuted—or even have their official conduct referenced—for actions taken while in office. The Justice Department said this precedent should have barred testimony about Trump’s conversations with then–Attorney General Jeff Sessions and communications aide Hope Hicks, which were used to illustrate intent during his state trial.
Officials warned that allowing state prosecutors to indict former presidents for official behavior could “chill every president in performing their duties.”
Trump was convicted in May 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records and later received an unconditional discharge in January 2025—a symbolic sentence designed to avoid political disruption as he began his second term.
A separate federal appeals court has also asked a Manhattan judge to reconsider transferring the case from state to federal court, a move that could expedite Trump’s potential exoneration.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which secured the conviction, declined to comment on the Justice Department’s intervention.
