U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom on Day 3 of his civil fraud trial at the State Supreme Court on Wednesday in New York City. Photo by Jeenah Moon/UPI |
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Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Former President Donald Trump, who is facing a civil fraud trial in New York for his business dealings, filed a motion Thursday seeking the dismissal of his Stormy Daniels-related criminal case in the Empire State.
Trump, 77, has pleaded not guilty to nearly three dozen felony counts alleging he falsified his business records to cover his reimbursement to his former attorney Michael Cohen for hush-money payments made to Daniels, an adult film star, ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Daniels, 44, was paid $130,000 for her silence about an affair she allegedly had with the former president when he was just a New York businessman. Trump has denied the affair and previously said the statute of limitations has "long since ended."
The case is being prosecuted by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after inheriting the investigation from Bragg's predecessor.
Bragg's case argues in part that Trump and Cohen worked with American Media, the owner of the National Enquirer, to identify and suppress negative news stories ahead of the election.
"Even if taken at face value, there was nothing illegal about that strategy," Trump's lawyers have said.
In the new court documents, Trump's lawyers accused Bragg of conducting a "meandering, halting and roving investigation" before filing what they called "discombobulated" and politically motivated charges.
"President Trump cannot be said to have falsified business records of the Trump Organization by paying his personal attorney using his personal bank accounts," the motion reads.
Trump's lawyers contend that "New York's business records statute has never been applied in this fashion" and said Bragg's theory is "so flawed."
Trump's lawyers' legal theory for dismissal of the "zombie case" relies on the fact that the investigation took several years to complete, which shows prejudice against Trump, they say.
"The delay has prejudiced President Trump, interfered with his ongoing presidential campaign, and violated his due process rights," his lawyers wrote.
"Accordingly, the court should dismiss the indictment or, in the alternative, conduct a hearing to determine the reason for the delay."
Also on Thursday, Trump cited his alleged "presidential immunity" in his first motion to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith's federal election interference case against him and sought to delay his classified documents trial in Florida until 2024.
