Trump’s lead attorney described the case as a misuse of criminal law by the Manhattan district attorney.
President Donald Trump’s attorneys filed an appeal on Wednesday challenging his conviction for falsifying business records.
Trump’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal, asking the New York mid-level appeals court to overturn his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records from May last year.
“The misuse of the criminal law by the Manhattan DA to target President Trump sets a dangerous precedent, and we look forward to the case being dismissed on appeal,” Robert Giuffra, co-chair of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and the lead attorney representing the president in the matter, said in a statement.
He said the appeal is a step toward protecting New York’s “reputation as a global business, financial, and legal center.”
The president is managing the appeal with a new legal team after he recently appointed his two previous attorneys, Emil Bove and Todd Blanche, to Justice Department administration positions.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Office will next get to respond to the challenge, while Trump’s legal team can submit further details explaining the grounds of the case.
The charges relate to business record improprieties and payments to Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, during his 2016 campaign for the Republican nomination. Prosecutors alleged the $130,000 payout was to keep adult film actress Stormy Daniels from saying anything that might damage Trump’s 2016 campaign while accounting ledgers suggest the money was for legal fees.
“This has been a very terrible experience,” Trump said during his sentencing hearing on Jan. 10. “I’m totally innocent. I did nothing wrong.”
“My accountants … called a legal expense a legal expense, and for this, I got indicted,” Trump said. “It’s incredible, actually. This is a case that should have never been brought.”
Daniels alleged Trump had an affair with her in 2006, which the president has persistently rejected as untrue.
Judge Juan M. Merchan sentenced Trump on Jan. 10, with no fines, jail time, or probation ordered as part of a so-called “unconditional discharge.”
Though no penalties were included, the convictions stand on the president’s record, making him the only leader in the history of the nation to have a felony conviction.
Trump has challenged the allegations, the trial, and the outcome, vowing to appeal the conviction as soon as he was sentenced.
“This has been a weaponization of government,” Trump said. “They call it lawfare.”
The president told the court the case was “a political witch hunt” concocted to damage his reputation and influence the election.
“Obviously, that didn’t work,” Trump said. “The people of our country got to see this firsthand, and then they voted, and I won.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
