Election 2026LiveSenate54 Dem · 44 Rep · 2 to callHouse253 Dem · 157 Rep · 25 to callGovernors28 Dem · 20 Rep · 2 to callUpdated 23:36 ET · AP race calls
ABRAnews Three sides to every story.
Courts & Justice

New York appeals court hears Trump's bid to overturn hush money conviction

Judges pressed lawyers for Trump and Manhattan's district attorney on presidential immunity and federal election law, and the court did not immediately rule.

Donald Trump in 2025
Donald Trump in 2025. Photo: Daniel Torok, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
11 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from conservative outlets
Liberal7 outletsTrump's long appeal path and the legal stakesCenter3 outletsWhat the five judges asked in courtConservative1 outletTrump's lawyers seek to overturn the conviction
Published 3 min read
Overview

Trump's lawyers argued Thursday before a five-judge panel of New York's Appellate Division, First Department, a mid-level state in Manhattan, that his hush money conviction should be thrown out. A jury convicted Trump in May 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records tied to a $130,000 payment to adult film performer Stormy Daniels. He received an unconditional discharge in January 2025, meaning no jail time, fine or other penalty.

Lawyer Robert Giuffra said the case was "infected by multiple fatal errors." He argued federal election law should have barred the state prosecution and that some trial evidence was protected by presidential immunity. Steven Wu, for Manhattan Alvin Bragg's office, said the prosecution was not preempted and did not violate immunity.

He added that any wrongly admitted evidence was harmless. The judges questioned both sides. The court did not immediately rule.

Trump denies wrongdoing. Separately, a federal judge declined for the third time in August to move the case to federal court, and arguments on Trump's appeal of that decision are set for Nov. 16. CBS News reports that both sides have indicated the case is headed to New York's highest court and possibly the US .

Key figures

Three sides of the story

Liberal7 outlets

Trump's long appeal path and the legal stakes

MS NOW frames the hearing as the "ordinary course" of appeal that the Supreme Court pointed to when it let sentencing go ahead in January 2025. It reports Giuffra's "infected by multiple fatal errors" and Wu's reply. It says the panel's ruling is unlikely to end the case, since New York's highest court and possibly the Supreme Court are still ahead.

The Guardian leads with Trump's team planning to keep trying to throw out the verdict. It sets out the Daniels payment, prosecutors' claim that he "orchestrated a conspiracy" and the lawyers' point that evidence he knew is "weak." It says the appeal has "heavy political overtones."

The Philadelphia Inquirer runs the AP report, which cites a filing alleging "immense political pressure" on a Democratic prosecutor and quotes Wu's "mountain" of evidence. CBS News notes that Trump's former defense lawyer Todd Blanche is now and Emil Bove a federal judge. It adds that the new lawyers echo Trump's trial arguments and quotes Judge Hellerstein's earlier ruling against Trump in the federal effort.

Center3 outlets

What the five judges asked in court

Courthouse News leads with Trump taking "another stab" at tossing the conviction and builds its report on the exchanges in the courtroom. It says Justice Troy Webber "seemed skeptical" about how central federal election law was to the case, and quotes her remark that the payments "were not related in any way to the election." In the outlet's account, Justice Martin Shulman showed some sympathy for the immunity argument, suggesting that a sitting president's "public messaging" might fall within his communication authority.

Wu told the panel the four tweets were "a drop in the bucket" next to a "mountain of evidence." The report notes the court did not immediately rule. The Seattle Times runs the AP preview, which says "political overtones aren't hard to find."

It reports that Trump's attorneys, in court papers, called prosecutors' legal theory "a house of cards," and that Bragg's office counters that the theory and jury instructions were legitimate. It also mentions the Nov. 16 federal appeal arguments. The Hill's headline says the appeals court questions whether the conviction survives presidential immunity.

Its report says the panel questioned whether immunity or federal law bars the conviction, and that Trump's lawyers said Bragg's theory was preempted.

Conservative1 outlet

Trump's lawyers seek to overturn the conviction

The Washington Times reports that the president's attorneys are due before a New York appeals court on Thursday, seeking to have his hush money conviction thrown out. Its report says the conviction made history.

All sources: 11 articles from 11 outlets

Liberal (7)

Center (3)

Conservative (1)

Related
Appeals court

A court that reviews a lower court's decision for legal mistakes. It does not hear witnesses again, and above the federal appeals courts there is only the Supreme Court.

All terms →
Felony and misdemeanor

A felony is a serious crime that can bring more than a year in prison, and a conviction can cost the right to vote or some jobs. A misdemeanor is a lesser offence: up to a year in jail, a fine or probation.

All terms →
District attorney and US attorney

A district attorney is the local prosecutor, usually elected, who brings charges under state law. A US attorney is the federal prosecutor for a district, appointed by the president, who brings federal charges.

All terms →
Supreme Court

The highest US court: nine justices, appointed for life by the president with the Senate's approval. Its rulings bind every other court.

All terms →
Attorney General

The head of the Justice Department and the government's chief lawyer. Each state has its own attorney general too.

All terms →