Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Trump LAUGHED OUT of Federal Court by PISSED OFF Judge

Episode Date: September 2, 2024

Trump’s lawyers are wearing dunce caps again, screwing up their recent attempt to get the criminal conviction of Trump case to federal court before the 9/18 sentencing hearing BECAUSE THEY FAILED TO ASK THE FEDERAL JUDGE TO FILE THEIR REMOVAL NOTICE late. Michael Popok dives into proper federal removal procedures and comes out the other side with a simple explanation as to why Trump’s future motion for leave will be quickly denied, meaning Judge Merchan NEVER LOST JURISDICTION over the case at all. Head to https://zbiotics.com/LegalAF to get 15% off your first order when you use LEGALAF at checkout. Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Join the Legal AF Patreon: https://Patreon.com/LegalAF Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/lights-on-with-jessica-denson On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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than any other brand as of June, 2024. Find out what makes Mazda different at Mazda.ca. This is Michael Popock, Legal Aid. After some confusion out there about what just happened with the attempt by Donald Trump to drag his post-conviction, pre-sentencing criminal case in New York over to federal court at the last minute and why it just got bounced on the court docket, I'm here to explain it as a practicing lawyer in that jurisdiction. It has to do with the timing of this particular notice of removal coming after conviction and before sentencing and the steps that Donald Trump's lawyers failed to take appropriately

in order to set up their notice of removal to try to get the federal judge, in this case, Alvin Hellerstein, Judge Al Hellerstein, to rule in their favor. I'm going to break it all down for you. It's not that complicated, but I'm going to explain it and unpack it for you right here. First of all, a notice of removal is a device that's used if you have the grounds, and I'll tell you what the grounds potentially are here, to take a case that had been filed against you in criminal court, in state court, over to federal court. In this case, if you're a federal officer and you did things under the color of your office, those are terms of art, you may have an

argument that your case should have been prosecuted by the same prosecutors but in federal court, federal procedure, and federal judges. Donald Trump already tried this before the case started. Over a year ago in May, he filed the same notice of removal, arguing the exact same things that he wanted, that he's a federal officer, a federal caller of law, all arising under the Stormy, Daniels, hush money bribery actions and fraudulent conduct of Donald Trump that happened before he was president. I don't know how he gets to federal officer under federal color of law, but let's leave that for aside for a minute. They tried this,

and Judge Hallerstein in July of last year said, no way. You may have been a federal officer at the moment if you were paying off Michael Cohen to pay backs for the Stormy Daniels bribe, but that's not part of your presidential office and that's not part of the color of your office. And so no. He sent it back to Judge Murchon and Judge Murchon presided over the case and that you may have heard the case went to jury trial and 12-0 convicted Donald Trump, 34 counts felony convictions. Now after a conviction and before the sentencing

that's scheduled for the 18th of September, Donald Trump wants to throw another monkey right to try to delay the inevitable, which is to be sentenced on the 18th of September. So they're trying to use a provision, which I'm gonna put up on the screen here, I'm going to talk about a provision of the law, which is 1455 of the removal statute. And they're trying to argue that they have the right to seek removal. This is why it got bounced. It got bounced by

the court clerk and ultimately by Judge Hellerstein because in order to file this notice of removal right now, after conviction and before sentencing, you've got to get leave of the court. Now, some people have interpreted that as they got to go back to Judge Mershon and ask Judge Mershon for permission. No. They have to ask Judge Hellerstein nicely in a motion for leave to file out of time a notice for removal. Why is it out of time? Because the 1455 statute says if you're past the arraignment and you're past the conviction, you've got to ask pretty please permission to the judge, the federal judge, for leave

to file your notice of removal. He'll look at that notice of removal. Why is that the procedure? Because technically when a notice of removal is filed, even one that's invalid, it divests jurisdiction of the judge in the state court, even temporarily, even for a moment. But you never get to that if you first have to ask

the federal judge whether you can file the notice of removal. See the difference? Notice of removal filed if it's appropriate and valid and regular would divest the trial judge at least temporarily until the federal judge sent it back with another order saying, no, I'm not keeping it hot potato back to Judge Roshan. But you never get there because there's the second step. There's this first preliminary step that has to be complied with that Donald Trump did not comply with.

That's why the clerk and Judge Hellerstein just bounced the notice of removal. You have to ask Judge Hellerstein for permission under 1455 of the statute, and they didn't. The only other way around that, even though it's not technically in the rule, I guess, is to ask the Manhattan DA for their consent to transfer the case post-conviction

and before sentencing to the federal court, which they're never going to do. So this is the reading the writing on the walls, this is what's gonna happen. First, let me start with the actual rule, which is 28 USC code 1455. It governs the procedure for removal of criminal prosecutions.

And here's what it says, because the power of the notice of removal is so robust and unique that it immediately divest jurisdiction, it has to be handled properly. And there needs to be this gatekeeping step robust and unique that it immediately divests jurisdiction, it has to be handled properly. And there needs to be this gatekeeping step if it's done post-conviction.

It's different than if you're running into court at last year, a year and a half ago, and you're asking, help, help, take me out of state court of a federal officer being sued for my federal functions. All right, come into federal court. Now he's already been convicted. Let's face it, after a night with drinks, I don't bounce back the next day like I used to. I have to make a choice. I can either have a great night or a great

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first order when you use LegalAF at checkout. Ziotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee. So if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to zbiotics.com slash Legal AF and use the code Legal AF at checkout for 15% off. So here's what the rule says. It says a notice of removal of a criminal prosecution shall, that's mandatory, be filed, this is under 1455B1, shall be filed not later than 30 days after the arraignment in the

state court or at any time before trial, whichever is earlier. So both of those dates have passed. The case is, the arraignment happened two years ago. We all saw those photos. And the arraignment has happened and the prosecution, and the trial has happened. So we can't turn back the clock, so that can't happen. So what does the 1455 B little one say is the rules for the

judge and for the removal in that instance where you're filing a post-conviction after the trial is over? Then it says, except that for good cause shown, the United States District Court, that's Judge Hellerstein, may enter, may, permissive, discretionary on him, an order granting the defendant leave to file the notice at a later time. What Emil Boves, the lawyer for Donald Trump, did improperly and procedurally improperly is that he filed not a motion for leave,

pretty please, Judge, won't you let us under 1455B1, he just filed a notice of removal. Wrong. And that, and because that technically would have divested even for a nanosecond, Judge Mershon, the state court judge of jurisdiction, at a critical moment, we're already here, like basically September 1, with, with sentencing two weeks away, the judge says, you know what, with the clerk, bounced, bounced, right? Emile Bové, you got it wrong. You didn't attach the right documents, you didn't attach the right filing, you didn't call it the right thing. And where is your leave, where is your leave of court permission slip from Judge Hellerstein missing, bounced, done, which means that notice of removal is no longer valid and

Judge Breschon still retains jurisdiction. Now, how does Emile Beauvais solve this problem? It's not really solvable. It's insoluble. I'll tell you why. Because now he's gonna have to refashion these papers, which Donald Trump's campaign is conveniently referred to as it's just a matter of some dockets and logistics

we didn't get right, we're gonna fix it. That's Stephen Chung, my version of didn't get right we're gonna fix it. That's Stephen Chung, my version of Stephen Chung. They're never gonna fix this because they're now gonna have to frame it appropriately under 15-15-15- sorry stuttered 14-55-B1 as a motion for leave pretty please permission slip from Judge Hellerstein to let them file a notice of removal. That's how serious a notice of removal is. And so they'll file their motion and the other side, the Manhattan DA is going to oppose and Judge Hellerstein, without even the need of a hearing, is going to deny the motion for leave to remand. He's going

to find that the notice of removal or he's going to deny the notice of removal. He's going to say the notice of removal is invalid, that it's an attempt to re-argue that which he already ruled against Donald Trump a year and a half ago, that Donald Trump already dropped his appeal. He had an appeal a year and a half ago about Judge Hellerstein rejecting the notice of removal and remanding the case back to Judge Mershon for the trial,

and he dropped the appeal. He dismissed his own appeal. And Judge Hallersen is gonna say, you did that, you did that, you're asking for new argument and re-argument after trial, that's not appropriate. The appropriate thing for you to do is to take an appeal from the state court judge to the state court appellate court, get out of my federal court, so long.

Motion for leave to file the notice of removal denied. That's what's going to happen. And the only other little out that they gave them was almost like teasing. I think the judge and the clerk were teasing Emile Boves, the lawyer for Donald Trump. They said, well, if you can get the consent of the Manhattan DA, the prosecutor, to take this case to federal court post-conviction pre-sentencing, try. I'm not even sure that's a thing under the procedural rules, but I thought it was, I laughed at it when I saw it. So that's what's going to happen.

So that's the checklist to file. This is your viewing guide of what's going to happen next. They're going to refile. They're either going to get it right or they're going to get it wrong. At the rate they're going procedurally, they don't know what they're doing. They're going to get it right or they're gonna get it wrong. At the rate they're going procedurally, they don't know what they're doing. They're gonna get it wrong. What they should file is a motion for leave to file a notice of removal out of time. The judge Hellerstein is the court judge, not Judge Mershon, who makes that ruling. He will deny it for the reasons that I outlined and then they are done.

Which means at no time since two days ago has Judge Murchon been divested of jurisdiction. He's been the judge, he's always the judge, he continues this as the judge. There won't have to be what's called a remand because the case was never properly removed from federal court by Donald Trump's dunce cap wearing lawyers. That's where we're at. That's the explanation. Now you know. If you didn't know before, now you know. You can follow me.

If you'd like to know more about things at the intersection of law and politics, follow Legal AF. I sit at that intersection so you don't have to. On Wednesdays, I do the show with Karen Friedman at Nifilo. On Saturdays with Ben Mycelis. And we sort of curate the top four or five stories at the intersection of law and politics. We bring it to you right here, YouTube version.

If you'd like to watch your podcast being made and participate in live chat with the host, you can do it right here or wherever you get your audio podcast from, just plug in Legal AF. There's our logo. So until my next hot take, until my next Legal AF, this is Michael Popak reporting.