Southampton Attorney Appealing Trump's Conviction

President Donald Trump has hired an attorney from Southampton to overturn the president’s felony conviction for trying to cover up allegations that he had an affair with a porn actress.

Robert Giuffra Jr., co-chair of the high-priced Manhattan-based law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, notified Manhattan court that he and a team of four other attorneys will be filing paperwork to appeal Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

“President Donald J. Trump’s appeal is important for the rule of law, New York’s reputation as a global business, financial and legal center, as well as for the presidency and all public officials,” Giuffra said in a statement. “The misuse of the criminal law by the Manhattan DA to target President Trump sets a dangerous precedent, and we look forward to the case being dismissed on appeal.”

Trump is the first U.S. president to have a criminal conviction on his record. A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty in May of falsifying business records related to $130,000 in hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. He was sentenced to conditional discharge — meaning no time behind bars — about a week before his inauguration.

Giuffra’s local ties run deep. He serves as president of the Lake Agawam Conservancy, a Southampton-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group dedicated to helping improve the water quality in one of the most impaired waterways in New York State. His wife and three children split their time between Manhattan and a historic home they bought in 2012 that was once part of the Mocomonto resort overlooking the lake. And his wife Joyce is a member of the Southampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals.