Former President Donald Trump’s legal team has filed a motion to move the 34 charges of falsifying business records against him to federal court, ahead of the 2024 GOP presidential primary. The trial, scheduled for February or March, would be at the height of the primary season.

According to reports, Trump’s lawyers are citing a federal law provision that allows for such a motion to be filed within 30 days of a state court arraignment. The motion was mentioned during a state court hearing before Judge Juan Merchan by lawyer Todd Blanche.

While the state case will proceed despite the motion, the move to federal court, if granted, could be seen as a tactical move by Trump’s legal team. Federal courts have been seen as more favorable to the former president in previous cases.

During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Merchan urged both sides to agree on a trial date in February or March, which is also the time when Super Tuesday is scheduled for March 5, 2024.

It remains to be seen whether the motion to move the case to federal court will be granted, but it is clear that the legal battle between Trump and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office is far from over.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.