Trump's request for hush money dismissal — citing Biden pardon — wasn't for judge: Expert

Legal experts ripped apart Donald Trump's latest request to have his guilty verdict in New York tossed, in which he cited Hunter Biden's sweeping pardon.

Trump's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the guilty verdict, handed down by a New York state jury in May. The questionable filing prompted legal analysts to post takedowns on social media and say they expected the judge will ignore the request.

In 72 pages, the lawyers cite Trump's case in federal court and the opinion rules of the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel. However, rules for federal prosecutors don't bind Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, as that case is in a state court.

“Since DA Bragg took office, he has engaged in ‘precisely the type of political theater’ that President Biden condemned," the filing said.

Former ethics czar Norm Eisen soundly trounced that claim in a Bluesky thread.

ALSO READ: Will Trump back the FBI’s battle against domestic extremists? He won’t say.

Eisen later pointed out that Trump's lawyers even went so far as to "invent a new constitutional category of pre-presidential privileges, arguing that the case must be dismissed bc it 'disrupts his transition efforts and his preparations.'"

As Eisen explains, there's no such law.

As for the Biden pardon, Reuters judicial reporter Brad Heath concluded the claim, which appears on "the first page of this filing," was likely "written for an audience other than the judge."

Lawfare's senior editor, Roger Parloff, posted a screen capture on X revealing, "Trump asks that if Justice Merchan plans to deny his now two pending motions to dismiss and schedule a sentencing that grants Trump a 2-week stay so he can seek a federal injunction."

The organization State Democracy Defenders Action released a statement saying, "Trump, like everyone else, should be held accountable for his crimes."