Last year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that former presidents enjoy a broad presumption of criminal immunity for official actions taken while in office.

A group of judges are now looking at whether the decision means President Donald Trump has a path to overturn his state felony convictions. 

Arguments over removal to federal system

According to The Hill, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit is hearing arguments regarding whether Trump should have access to the federal court system.

The president was successfully prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Trump's attorneys maintain that the Supreme Court's ruling has opened another avenue for him to seek redress as prosecutors introduced immunized evidence at trial.

Examples were said to include the use of testimony by a former White House aide along with the president's posts on social media.

Trump's lawyers say prosecutors "triggered a uniquely federal interest"

"The district attorney holds the keys in his hand. He doesn’t have to introduce any of this evidence," Trump lawyer Jeffrey Wall was quoted as saying.

#BREAKING: Judges probe whether immunity decision leads to wipeout of Trump conviction https://t.co/DekUrivGZj

— The Hill (@thehill) June 11, 2025

"Federal officers get prosecuted all the time for things that have nothing to do with their job, but if a state or local attorney says, 'We're going to put into evidence things that have to do with the way you do your job,' then they’ve triggered a uniquely federal interest," he continued.

Steven Wu serves as appellate chief at the Manhattan District Attorney's office, and he pointed to how Trump waited for two months after the Supreme Court's ruling before seeking removal to the federal system.

"It is worse, not better, for questions of resolving disputes between federal and state courts that they first went to the state court fully briefed — not just immunity, but also recusal and sought a stay of the sentence," Wu said.

"He did so in a deliberate attempt to get state court relief there, and only then came to this court, or rather to the district court, to seek federal court relief," he added.

Fox News reported that Judge Juan Merchan opted not to sentence Trump to prison time and instead imposed what is known as an "unconditional discharge."

"This is a great embarrassment to the state of New York," Trump said of his case, adding that it represents a "tremendous setback for the American court system."