The United States Department of Justice delivered a seismic intervention on Friday, urging a New York appeals court to vacate President Donald Trump’s hush money conviction on grounds of presidential immunity and federal preemption. In a rare amicus brief filed in Manhattan, the DOJ aligned fully with Trump’s defense, asserting that evidence of his official presidential acts—improperly admitted during the 2024 trial—tainted the verdict beyond repair. The filing marks a dramatic reversal from the Biden-era prosecution and signals federal supremacy over state attempts to penalize conduct shielded by the Constitution’s executive protections.

Central to the DOJ’s argument is the Supreme Court’s landmark July 2024 ruling in Trump v. United States, which established absolute immunity for core presidential functions and presumptive immunity for other official acts. The government contends that testimony regarding Trump’s conversations with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about a potential Federal Election Commission probe, and with Communications Director Hope Hicks on media strategy, constituted direct evidence of official conduct. Allowing such material, the DOJ warned, risks paralyzing future presidents with fear of politically motivated state prosecutions—a chilling effect on executive governance.

The brief further asserts that New York prosecutors overstepped federal authority by basing the falsification of business records charges on an alleged violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Under the Supremacy Clause, state courts cannot enforce or penalize breaches of federal election law, rendering the entire legal theory defective. The DOJ emphasized that even if the trial predated the Supreme Court’s immunity decision, the constitutional violation demands reversal: “Introducing evidence of official acts can never be harmless,” the filing declared, citing the high court’s directive that such evidence must be excluded even in cases involving private conduct.

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This federal intervention follows a separate appellate victory for Trump on Thursday, when the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a district judge to reconsider removing the case from state to federal court. Such a transfer could accelerate dismissal under the DOJ’s immunity framework and bypass New York’s protracted appeals process, which might otherwise extend for years. The maneuver underscores a strategic convergence between the incoming Trump administration and its Justice Department, poised to dismantle one of the most politically charged convictions in American history.

With Trump already sentenced to an unconditional discharge by Judge Juan Merchan on January 10—an outcome designed to minimize disruption as he assumed his second term—the DOJ’s brief effectively transforms a closed chapter into an open constitutional battle. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office declined to comment, but legal observers anticipate a fierce rebuttal defending state sovereignty. As the appeals court weighs federal supremacy against local prosecutorial authority, the fate of Trump’s 34 felony counts now hinges on a precedent that could redefine the boundaries of presidential accountability for generations.

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