Trump demands Manhattan hush money indictment be moved to federal court; says DA Alvin Bragg ‘politically motivated’ to bring charges

Donald Trump’s lawyers demanded Thursday that his trial in the porn star hush money case be moved from state to federal court because Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg was “politically motivated” to seek an indictment.

Trump’s papers, filed in Manhattan Federal Court, came as Bragg asked the state judge now hearing the case to bar Trump from publicly discussing evidence in the matter.

Trump’s filing met the legal deadline allowing him 31 days from his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court to formally request that his case be moved to federal court.

Trump’s request to move the case says that the Manhattan Supreme Court indictment “is politically motivated and was brought because a local politician — here D.A. Bragg — disfavored President’s Trump’s acts and policies as President of the United States.”

The filing also says the case must be moved to federal court because “there is a clear nexus” between the alleged hush money payments and “former President Trump’s position as President of the United States.”

Bragg spokeswoman Emily Tuttle responded: “We are reviewing the notice of removal and will file an appropriate response in court.”

The Manhattan Supreme Court judge currently hearing the criminal case, Juan Merchan, on Thursday told Trump’s team that if the federal courts reject the transfer request, they should plan on a trial date next February or March — and clear their personal calendars of any vacations, new cases, or other trials.

That also goes for Trump, who’s running to become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. He can’t agree to any appearances, speaking arrangements or other events that would interfere with his availability for the trial, Merchan said.

Merchan has not yet ruled on Bragg’s proposed order to bar Trump from talking about evidence or witnesses in the case — but he indicated that he likely would approve its suggestions.

Trump is criminally accused of falsifying business records in a scheme to bury negative stories ahead of the 2016 presidential election, violating state and federal election laws. Prosecutors allege he illegally disguised reimbursement of a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels paid out by his former fixer, Michael Cohen, to buy her silence about an alleged 2006 tryst.

In a motion filed last week, Assistant Manhattan DA Catherine McCaw described Trump’s “longstanding and perhaps singular history of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, trial jurors, grand jurors, judges, and others involved in legal proceedings against him, putting those individuals and their families at considerable safety risk.”

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche tried to get Marchan to revise Bragg’s proposed order to bar the DA from holding press conferences or issuing documents like the “statement of facts” that laid out the case against Trump. But Marchan didn’t bite, saying that the DA has an obligation to inform the public about the charges he’s bringing.

Blanche also said that Trump should be allowed to defend himself on the campaign trail.

“Our client should be allowed to disclose to the people who are going to vote or not going to vote for him his defense of the case,” Blanche said, adding that Trump shouldn’t have to risk a contempt charge when he counters something that Bragg or one of the witnesses might say publicly.

McCaw pointed to Trump’s notorious social media presence, his remarks leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection, and his attacks on Georgia poll worker Ruby Freeman. Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani falsely accused Freeman and her daughter of introducing suitcases of illegal ballots and committing election fraud — setting off a wave of death threats that forced the pair into hiding.

She said his Truth Social post warning of “death and destruction” if he’s indicted caused the NYPD to “launch a significant law enforcement response around the courts in the weeks leading up to the arraignment.”

Merchan has received dozens of death threats and other harassing calls and emails, and hours after his arraignment in Manhattan, Trump made a speech in Florida where he singled out the judge and referenced his wife and daughter. Bragg has also been subjected to a deluge of racist hate mail and death threats before and after Trump’s indictment.

Merchan, who pointed out that the prosecution wasn’t asking for a gag order, bristled at the idea that Trump should get special treatment because he’s a presidential candidate, when defendants are regularly ordered not to publicly share evidence they receive during discovery.

“If he’s running for office, you’re saying he should be held to a different standard from all other defendants who come into this courtroom?” he asked Blanche.

When the attorney tried to make a reference to routine cases before the court, the judge responded, “What is routine? Somebody’s accused of a homicide, facing 25 to life, is that routine for that person?”

He admitted that Trump’s case was special, but said his words can have consequences.

“Obviously Mr. Trump is different. It would be foolish of me to say that he’s not,” he said. “He is different. I have to apply the law as I see fit, and in that regard, I am bending over backward and straining to allow him to advance his candidacy. ... The last thing I want to do is infringe on his or anyone else’s First Amendment rights.”

Merchan said the protective order would only apply to evidence the defense obtains from the prosecution through the discovery process, not to material the defense handed over to the D.A.’s office, or to public statements already made by witnesses.