Former President Donald Trump dropped his effort to move his hush money case from New York state court to federal court.
On Tuesday, his attorneys asked the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals “to “dismiss his appeal in this case,” after a previous ruling that had declined the relocation, court documents reveal.
The filing came one day before the deadline for Mr Trump’s legal team to submit its brief for why the case should be moved from state to federal court.
The reason for the move is not immediately clear. A lawyer for Mr Trump declined to comment.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg accused Mr Trump of paying $280,000 in total to two women — Ms Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal — in order to cover up affair allegations.
The trial in New York state court is set to begin on 24 March 2024.
On top of this case, Mr Trump is currently facing a civil fraud trial in New York, a federal probe related to his handling of classified documents, another federal probe over 2020 election interference, and a Georgia state criminal case related to the 2020 election.
Despite his mountain of legal battles, the former president is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
