A US judge has rejected Donald Trump's attempt for a third time to move his hush-money criminal case from state to federal court, aiming to have his felony conviction dismissed.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Trump's petition on Friday, stating that the arguments presented were "neither new nor legally sufficient."
Trump, who became the first US president to be convicted of a crime in 2024, was found guilty by a New York jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors alleged that Trump sought to conceal hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to avoid negative publicity during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump's legal team has argued that the conviction should be overturned based on a 2024 Supreme Court decision that expanded presidential immunity. However, Hellerstein disagreed, writing, "Paying hush money to an adult film star or engaging in a cover-up of an embarrassment are not subsumed in presidential immunity."
Trump's lawyers have announced their intention to appeal, calling Hellerstein's ruling "baseless and lawless." A statement from Trump's team asserted, "President Trump will be filing a powerful appeal, and will continue defeating Democrat weaponization at every turn."
The case revolves around a $130,000 payment allegedly made by Trump through his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to secure Daniels' silence regarding an alleged affair with Trump while he was married. Trump has denied any sexual relationship with Daniels.
While falsifying business records is typically a misdemeanour in New York, it can be elevated to a felony if committed in furtherance of another crime. Prosecutors contended that Trump's actions were intended to unlawfully influence the 2016 election.
This New York indictment was one of four Trump faced in 2023. The others involved allegations of illegally retaining classified documents and attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. Those cases were dismissed after Trump's re-election in 2024.
Only the New York case proceeded to trial. Despite the felony convictions, which could have led to incarceration or fines, Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge on January 10, 2025, meaning no jail time or financial penalty, though the convictions remain on his record.
Trump has appealed his conviction and simultaneously sought to transfer the case to federal court, hoping to have the charges dismissed.
His legal team has cited a July 2024 Supreme Court ruling that expanded presidential immunity to actions considered within the "outer perimeter" of a president's official duties, granting "presumptive immunity."
Trump's lawyers argued that since the hush-money case involved actions from his first term, it falls under this expanded immunity. Hellerstein had previously rejected this argument. However, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals directed Hellerstein to reconsider the case in light of the Supreme Court's ruling, without dictating a specific outcome.
In his latest decision, Hellerstein rejected the notion that he was merely certifying the appeals court's ruling, stating, "Federal district courts are not certifying clerks."
Addressing the Supreme Court's decision, Hellerstein ruled that Trump's actions concerning Daniels did not constitute "official acts" of the presidency. He wrote, "There is no way that discussions regarding hush money payments to cover up the President’s relations with Stormy Daniels could be an official act. An affair, or a cover-up of an affair, is not within the ‘outer perimeter’ of the President’s official responsibilities."
