Trump Demands Appellate Courts Scrap His Felonies at First Rally Since Conviction: ‘Rigged Trial’

In his first campaign stop since being found guilty in the Manhattan hush-money/election interference case, former president Donald Trump arrived in Arizona and repeated his criticisms of the prosecution's case as 'rigged' and being politically motivated; he even demanded his conviction be overturned on appeal. “Those appellate courts have to step up and straighten things out, or we’re not going to have a country anymore,” Trump roared at a Phoenix town hall event organized by Turning Point on June 6. 

Trump is anticipated to file an appeal following his conviction on all 34 counts of fabricating business records on May 30. He made history as the first US President to be found guilty of a felony, as per the LA Times. In front of the enthusiastic crowd, Trump recounted how, despite there having been 'no crime,' he was wrongly prosecuted by a 12-member jury. Additionally, he reiterated his accusations that the Democrats 'used COVID-19 to cheat' in the 2020 election, The Guardian reported.

Within hours after Trump's conviction in New York, his legal team started laying out its appeal plan, but experts warned it would be a difficult fight. Appeals are unpredictable, but given the timing and the high bar for overturning the decision, Trump will very likely remain a convicted felon on election day. Judge Juan Merchan gave both sides until June 13 to file motions in the case, which might include requests for him to re-examine any aspect of the case or judgment. 

Another round of post-trial motions will also take place before his defense team appeals. Todd Blanche, Trump's lead lawyer, said that the defense will 'vigorously fight' by submitting motions during that time. However, "That essentially has no possibility of success," Richard Serafini, a former federal and Manhattan prosecutor, told Axios.

Since the appeals procedure will not be completed by November, that may be good news for Trump. Even if Merchan were to give him a jail term, he could probably still be out on bail in the interim. Still, according to Serafini, Trump has little chance of reversing the judgment. "Most appeals are denied," he asserted. "Judges tend to get it right and this was an experienced judge."

"The only potential area of appeal which might work is that this was something of a novel use of the statute involved," Serafini noted. The legal premise utilized by District Attorney Alvin Bragg to file the charges against Trump had not been previously put to the test. It was his responsibility to demonstrate that Trump had committed the misdemeanor of falsifying company documents with the 'intent to commit another crime,' in this case, to further his election chances through illicit means. "There's nothing really that I know in the statute that would preclude its use in this context," Serafini explained.