Courts & Justice · Report · File No. 261105-678
Trump's lawyers ask New York appeals court to erase his 34-felony hush-money conviction
A mid-level appeals panel hears 15 minutes a side Thursday on whether to throw out the May 2024 verdict tied to a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. The outcome will test whether the courts are where Trump's legal record gets settled.
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President Donald Trump's lawyers went before a New York appeals court on Thursday to try to erase his 2024 conviction in the hush-money case, according to The Guardian and CBS News 12.
A jury in May 2024 found Trump guilty on all charges of falsifying business records, 34 felonies, tied to a $130,000 payment to adult film performer Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election 12. Prosecutors say the money bought her silence about an alleged sexual encounter years earlier; Trump denies anything sexual happened and denies wrongdoing 1.
Trump's then lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, made the payment. Trump's company later reimbursed Cohen in 2017 and logged the payments as legal expenses, the Guardian reported 1. Prosecutors say Trump "orchestrated a conspiracy" that violated federal campaign finance laws, among others 1.
In January 2025, the judge gave Trump an unconditional discharge: he remains a convicted felon but received no jail time, fine or other penalty 1. Trump was not expected to attend Thursday's session 1.
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Fifteen minutes a side
Lawyers for Trump and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg each get 15 minutes of questions from the Appellate Division, First Department, New York's mid-level appeals panel, CBS News reported 2. Both sides have signaled the case is headed next to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, and potentially the U.S. Supreme Court 2.
Trump's attorney Robert Giuffra, co-chair of the firm Sullivan & Cromwell, argued in an October 16 filing that the payment should have been covered by federal election laws that he says preempt state prosecutions. He also claims prosecutors violated presidential immunity and failed to show an "intent to defraud" 2.
Bragg's office described the 2016 plan as "a conspiracy to defraud the American public and government regulators" 2. In a July brief, Bragg's lawyers wrote that the charges arose from Trump's "unofficial, non-presidential conduct—as multiple courts have already found" 2.
The appeal comes a week after the death of Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who had presided over Trump's parallel effort to move the case to federal court 2. Hellerstein repeatedly rejected those arguments. In one ruling he wrote that "Reimbursing Cohen for advancing hush money to [Stormy Daniels] cannot be considered the performance of a constitutional duty" 2.
Trump is separately appealing a federal judge's August refusal, for the third time, to move the case to federal court on immunity grounds. Arguments in that appeal are scheduled for November 16 1.
Why it matters
That matters because the verdict is the only criminal conviction of a U.S. president. The courts will decide whether the felony record stands.
Trump's legal team has cycled through several courts and arguments, from state appeal to federal immunity 12. A ruling from the Appellate Division is not expected Thursday; the panel heard arguments only.
The Record
- A jury convicts Trump on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the hush-money case 12.
- The judge gives Trump an unconditional discharge, leaving him a convicted felon with no jail time, fine or other penalty 1.
- Trump attorney Robert Giuffra files an appeal brief arguing the case "should have never been brought" 2.
- New York's Appellate Division, First Department, hears 15 minutes a side in Trump's appeal 2.
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Sources
- The Guardian, “Trump tries to get 2024 conviction in hush money corruption case thrown out” (2026-11-05). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/05/trump-2024-conviction-hu
- CBS News, “Trump's lawyers to argue appeal in "hush money" case” (2026-11-05). cbsnews.com/news/trump-hush-money-conviction-appeal/
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