A federal court in New York has identified a deficiency in former President Donald Trump’s latest legal filing. Trump’s attorneys had requested that his state criminal case be moved to federal court before his sentencing next month, arguing that keeping the case in state court could result in his incarceration before the 2024 presidential election. They claimed that the prosecution is unconstitutional and conflicts with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
The Supreme Court ruling from July reaffirmed that U.S. presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts. Trump’s legal team aims to have the New York criminal case transferred to federal court, where they will seek to overturn the verdict and dismiss the case based on immunity grounds.
However, shortly after filing their request, the court issued a notice highlighting deficiencies in their pleading. The notice stated that incorrect PDF attachment, wrong event type used for filing, lack of permission from the court, and absence of an attached order granting permission were among the issues with their submission.
The court instructed Trump’s attorneys to re-file correctly by using appropriate event types and attaching all necessary documents including permission orders from the court itself.
Steven Cheung, communications director for Trump’s campaign, clarified that this notice was merely a procedural move rather than a ruling. He stated that they are working with Trump’s legal team to ensure proper filing on the electronic system as per instructions from the clerk’s office.
In May, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to concealing payments made during his 2016 campaign. He maintains his innocence and alleges political motivations behind this effort by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 18th—just seven weeks before Election Day—and Trump’s legal team has also sought delays in this process. They argue against an imposed gag order preventing criticism of proceedings and claim conflict between New York County procedures and Supreme Court guidance on presidential immunity.
This marks their second attempt at moving this case to federal court after an unsuccessful first attempt last year based on official acts involvement within indictments. Now they argue changed circumstances due to alleged misleading statements by state prosecutors regarding involvement of official duties or actions as president during trial proceedings.
Trump’s attorneys also requested dismissal of guilty verdicts following Supreme Court decisions regarding immunity protections for evidence presented at trial deemed protected official acts not meant for jury viewing.
They expressed concern over Justice Merchan unlawfully denying their motion for presidential immunity while emphasizing potential impact if sentencing occurs prior to national elections—a matter Justice Merchan is expected soon rule upon along with another request by Trump’s attorneys seeking postponement until after November 5th elections.