Trump attorneys appeal hush money conviction: 'Politically charged prosecution'

President Donald Trump's defense attorneys on Monday formally appealed the president's hush money case in New York, where he was convicted of falsifying business records in order to hide a payment he gave his former attorney to silence Stormy Daniels. 

Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records last year in connection with a 2016 payment his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels. He maintains he is innocent of wrongdoing and that the case was politically motivated.

The president was sentenced in January to unconditional discharge, meaning he didn't get jail time, probation or a fine. But the conviction still stands on his record, and he has maintained that he is innocent of wrongdoing.

“This is the most politically charged prosecution in our nation’s history,” Trump's attorneys wrote in the court filing. “The DA, a Democrat, brought those charges in the middle of a contentious Presidential election in which President Trump was the leading Republican candidate. These charges against President Trump were as unprecedented as their political context." 

Trump's legal team asked a three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to have the New York case moved to federal court in June, after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump is immune from federal prosecution for some official acts he took while in office, but that there is no immunity for unofficial acts.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.