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.”
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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.
A person familiar with the matter told Newsweek on Thursday that Johnson and Trump have spoken several times on the conviction in recent days. The source noted that Johnson did not need to be convinced as he also believes the House should address the conviction and indicated possible action could be taken.
Newsweek emailed Johnson’s office Sunday night for comment. This article will be updated with any provided statements.
On Thursday, a House Judiciary Committee hearing was held as some Republicans have sought to investigate Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over his successful criminal case brought against Trump.
Bragg and Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo will appear before a hearing from the Judiciary Committee on July 12, one day after Trump is scheduled to be sentenced.
Mariotti said that, even if Republicans are successful in moving Trump’s Manhattan case to federal court, that won’t change the foundations of the case.
“I’m not sure a federal judge in New York is going to be doing anything any different than the New York state judges,” he told Witt. “They are interpreting New York law.”
The former federal prosecutor added Sunday that the Republicans’ efforts are “something that’s done to appease Trump, but it doesn’t actually have the impact that Trump is hoping for.”
In addition to Trump’s call to Johnson, South Carolina Republican Representative Russell Fry was seeking to come up with legislation that could move state level cases against presidents to the federal level, which could remove powers from district attorneys like Bragg.
The legislation was first proposed by Fry in 2023 but it is now being moved for a possible vote on the House floor. While speaking with Politico, Fry said that some Republicans are looking to inform their colleagues on the possibility of the legislation, saying: “In my experience so far, the more [House members] have heard about it, the more comfortable they are with it.”
“It’s not a unique concept,” Fry reportedly said.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.