The Coolidge Reagan Foundation announced Monday that it has filed an amicus brief urging the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, First Department, to overturn President Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal conviction obtained under District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
In its briefing, the conservative nonprofit group, which says it focuses on the rule of law and election integrity, argues the conviction should be vacated because prosecutors relied on legal theories that New York courts had no authority to apply to a federal presidential campaign.
In April 2023, Bragg charged Trump with falsifying business records, alleging the charges were tied to payments made to adult entertainer Stormy Daniels in violation of campaign finance law.
The group's counsel, Dan Backer of Chalmers, Adams, Backer & Kaufman, said the brief contends the case improperly used a federal-election framework in a state prosecution.
"It's the ultimate paradox — prosecutors charged President Trump with violating federal election law for the wanton and intentional act of not violating federal election law," Backer said in an email to Newsmax.
The foundation said its brief identifies three "fatal" defects: that New York election law applies only to state and local offices; that federal campaign-finance law preempts states from regulating federal campaign conduct; and that the prosecution's alleged underlying federal election violation is not a crime because federal law bars using campaign funds for personal matters.
Shaun McCutcheon, the foundation's chair, said the brief lays out what he called a clear path for the appellate court to reverse the conviction and argued the case was politically driven.
"These foundational arguments have been largely buried until now, and our Brief gives the Appellate Division a clear, well-supported path to undo a conviction that never should have occurred. In the interest of justice this unprecedented, politically charged conviction must be overturned," he said.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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