NEWSWEEK
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said Republicans’ plans to challenge former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal conviction will ultimately fall short.
Mariotti, formerly of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Northern Illinois, appeared on MSNBC Sunday afternoon. He was asked about reports of a potential Republican effort that would attempt to move Trump’s hush-money case from state court to federal court.
Host Alex Witt asked Mariotti, “Can Republicans save Trump from this?”
“They can’t,” Mariotti replied. “Trump has been convicted. That is not going to change. Nothing is going to change about that before his sentencing in July.”
Last month, a New York City jury convicted Trump of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was found guilty of all 34 counts.
Trump, who has long denounced the case as a “witch hunt,” said he is innocent of all charges and denied Daniels’ allegation and the encounter. He has already announced plans to appeal the verdict.
According to a report last week in Politico Playbook, Trump called House Speaker Mike Johnson, saying: “We have to overturn this.” The report said that Johnson appeared to be sympathetic with Trump’s efforts and the House Speaker already believed that House Republicans could play in a role in overturning the conviction.
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