'Long shot': Legal expert shreds Trump's last-ditch effort to fight hush money conviction

Former President Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts in the Manhattan hush money case last week has led to a flurry of calls from his allies to get the Supreme Court to step in and save him.

But it's just not that simple, one legal expert told Salon — on the contrary, it would be a "long shot" to even get the court to hear the case, let alone decide anything in his favor.

One of Trump's only options to challenge his conviction in any court, experts have noted, is the legal theory under which Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg enhanced falsification of business records to a felony — specifically, that his concealment of hush payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels were carried out with intent to hide another crime, and that either state or federal charges could be the basis for this.

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"Rick Hasen, a professor of law at UCLA, said that it's unclear if 'federal election law violations could be the basis for prosecution in state court,'" wrote Salon's Marina Villenueve. "Trump could also bring about due process complaints, according to Hasen. But when it comes to whether his legal arguments could hold sway in state appellate court or the Supreme Court, multiple experts said they see either zero or slim chance that Trump could come out victorious after years of appeals."

"It is generally very tough to get Supreme Court review," said Hasen. "Because it is Trump, it would certainly get more attention. I think the due process arguments are somewhat stronger than the campaign finance arguments, but both are relative long shots."

Notably, even some of Trump's own allies are starting to temper expectations the Supreme Court will do anything to stop the conviction. During a Sunday interview, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who initially said the court should "step in," walked back any implication he knew the justices would do so, and former Trump attorney William Brennan expressed skepticism it would happen.