Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are asking the courts to take his New York criminal case away from the state level and into a federal court.

The request comes as Trump probably faces sentencing next month after conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

His lawyers have argued that this case, presided over by Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, has been nothing short of a politically motivated attack.

On Thursday, Trump’s lawyers filed a motion in the Southern District of New York to take the case out of Judge Merchan’s court. The lawyers do not mince words in their argument that these “ongoing legal proceedings” create “direct and irreparable harm” against Trump, the first-placing Republican candidate for the 2024 Presidential election.

The former president’s motion insists that he is entitled to a fair trial, free of the biases his lawyers say are rampant in Manhattan.

The urgency is unmistakable – sentencing is set for September 18, and lawyers for Trump are racing against the clock. They argue that while the court is considering this removal motion, Merchan should not have the ability to sentence Trump. If sentenced, the GOP presidential candidate could face as long as four years in prison and heavy fines.

The points of controversy involve the restrictions that Merchan has placed on Trump regarding speaking about the case.

Trump’s legal team squarely asserts that such restrictions have been a violation of his First Amendment rights. They further contend that these limitations extend just from harming Trump himself to harming the American people, in that it places him in a disadvantageous position to fully engage in his 2024 Presidential campaign, especially in any upcoming debates with Vice President Kamala Harris.

This isn’t the first time Trump has looked to dismiss the case. His legal team has already moved for dismissal on the back of the Supreme Court’s July ruling that presidents enjoy broad immunity from prosecution. Merchan is set to rule on this dismissal motion just two days before the sentencing.

The filing also points out what the Trump team views as blatant conflicts of interest. They cite Judge Merchan’s association with the Democratic Party, including donations to Joe Biden’s campaign, and his daughter’s past employment with Kamala Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign.

As a matter of fact, the House Judiciary Committee this week subpoenaed Authentic Campaigns, the left-leaning organization who Merchan’s daughter works with.

While the battle of litigation rages on, Trump’s legal team is still focused on their core preoccupation of ensuring that their client gets a fair trial-a possibility they continue to say can only be remotely achieved if the case is divested of its present venue.