A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
An appeal hearing for President Trump's criminal conviction and sentencing is set to take place in a federal court of appeals in Manhattan today.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
It is the latest in a case involving hush money payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, in which Trump was convicted on all 34 counts last year.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Kat Lonsdorf is in New York for the hearing. Kat, before we get into the hearing, remind us how we got here.
KAT LONSDORF, BYLINE: So Trump was convicted in May of last year, before the election, on 34 counts of falsifying business records, which he did to conceal a payment to Stormy Daniels. The payment was in exchange for her silence ahead of the 2016 election about an alleged sexual encounter. And just a reminder - there were several cases, both civil and criminal, against Trump ahead of last year's election, but this was the only criminal case to go to trial. The conviction made Trump the first president to also be a convicted felon. And as far as sentencing goes, the judge ruled that basically, because Trump's president, he won't face prison time or other penalties, but the conviction will remain on his record.
MARTÍNEZ: OK, the hearing today. What argument for appeal are Trump's lawyers making?
LONSDORF: OK. So it's a little wonky, but basically, Trump was tried, convicted and sentenced in the New York state court system. His lawyers have tried and failed twice before to get the case moved to federal court, essentially hoping it would get dismissed that way. And they keep citing a specific law that allows federal officials to make such a move if the case involves conduct while in office. But it has yet to work. Remember, the hush money payment at the heart of this case occurred before the 2016 election, when Trump was still a candidate. But now Trump's lawyers are making the argument again, saying that prosecutors during the trial relied on evidence related to Trump's first term, and therefore, this law applies.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. What are the chances that's going to work?
LONSDORF: Well, legal experts I talked to say it's a long shot, basically. Here's Jed Shugerman. He's a professor at Boston University School of Law. And he told me he thinks this is an example of Trump's lawyers exhausting every possible argument in the hopes of getting this conviction overturned.
JED SHUGERMAN: This argument is such a stretch. In this particular case, it's a clearly losing argument that any federal judge on the 2nd Circuit - Republican or Democratic appointee - would and should reject.
LONSDORF: But, you know, Trump has also filed an appeal through the state court system, and Shugerman says that is actually where he thinks the strongest possible arguments are. Those hearings just haven't happened yet.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So what do you think we're going to find out about today?
LONSDORF: So today's hearing is in front of a three-judge panel, and they'll have to confer, so there won't be a decision today. But what we'll really be listening for is what questions the judges ask, if they're skeptical or not, what they're skeptical about. This hearing and the decision will have implications beyond just Trump's case. If the judges rule in Trump's favor, it could ultimately make it easier to work around the state courts in our judicial system.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in New York. Kat, thanks.
LONSDORF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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