A New York appellate court heard arguments in President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn his 2024 conviction on felony falsifying-business-records charges arising from the so-called hush-money case. The hearing drew intense attention not only because it involves the first criminal conviction of a former—and now current—U.S. president, but also because the appeal tests how far prosecutors can go in pairing state records-fraud statutes with alleged election-related misconduct.

The judges reportedly focused on the core legal theory behind the felony counts.