Republicans whipping up a bill to bump former President Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial to federal court are wasting their time, a former federal prosecutor argued Sunday.
Renato Mariotti, formerly of the U.S. Attorney's office in Northern Illinois, appeared on MSNBC Sunday to throw cold water on Republicans' latest plans to challenge Trump's criminal conviction with a bill that would take the case away from New York state's criminal court.
"Can Republicans save Trump from this?" asked the MSNBC anchor Alex Witts.
"They can't," Mariotti replied.
Mariotti detailed a slew of challenges such a bill would face, starting with the question of whether Republicans can even find the votes to pass it.
"Trump has been convicted," Mariotti said. "That is not going to change. Nothing is going to change about that before his sentencing in July."
Trump was convicted last month of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
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The former president is slated to return to Manhattan criminal court for a sentencing hearing on July 11, court records show.
Mariotti explained this is just the beginning of the state court system's process, which he argued makes it unlikely the Supreme Court will intervene on Trump's behalf.
And, even if Republicans can pass a bill moving Trump's case to federal court, that does not change a key component of the case, the former prosecutor argued.
"I'm not sure a federal judge in New York is going to be doing anything any different than the New York state judges," he said. "They are interpreting New York law.
"I think it's something thats done to appease Trump," he said, "but it doesn't actually have the impact that Trump is hoping for."
