This week saw several developments in the on-going effort to bring Donald Trump to justice.

To start with the most frivolous, Trump is attempting to remove the New York criminal fraudulent business records case to federal court.  Given that this attempt is coming post-trial, the odds of the case being removed are almost certainly less than none.  Additionally, the attempted filing was rejected for procedural defects.  It’s not clear that Trump can remedy the procedural defects given that this filing is very late in the case.  In any case, the trial court is likely to take up and then deny Trump’s frivolous motion for new trial and then proceed to sentencing.   While Trump is attempting to delay the sentencing, he has presented no legal reason why his criminal case should be treated differently from ordinary defendants other than a non-existent “presidential candidate” exception to the standard procedure.  As of today, a decision on Trump’s motion for new trial (almost certainly a denial) is due on September 16 with sentencing to occur on September 18 unless the motion for new trial is granted or the trial court decides to postpone the sentencing.

The other three are more significant but routine. Continue Reading...