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A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled Friday that it “cannot be confident” a lower judge adequately considered President Donald Trump’s arguments as he sought to move his hush money criminal conviction case to federal court, The Hill reports. Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York in connection with a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He was sentenced to an unconditional discharge (no prison time or probation), and his legal team has formally appealed the conviction. Trump wants to move the case out of New York state court, The Hill reports, "so he can try to convince a federal judge that the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling compels tossing the jury’s 34-count guilty verdict." The trio of appeals court judges have seemingly opened the door to this consideration, writing, "The court bypassed what we consider to be important issues bearing on the ultimate issue of good cause." While the panel offered no opinion on "whether Trump’s strategy should ultimately succeed," they write, they did say that "the lower judge needs to reconsider his prior ruling." “We leave it to the able and experienced District Judge to decide whether to solicit further briefing from the parties or hold a hearing to help it resolve these issues,” the panel wrote.
