Trump Loses Bid Again to Move Hush-Money Case to Federal Court

A New York judge on Friday rejected former President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to transfer his 2024 felony conviction from state to federal court, dealing another setback to his efforts to overturn the charges.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Trump’s third petition to move the case, ruling that his legal arguments lacked merit. In a written decision, Hellerstein stated that Trump’s claims were “neither new nor legally sufficient,” effectively closing off one of the former president’s primary strategies to dismiss the case.

Trump was convicted in May 2024 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, the first time a former U.S. president has been criminally convicted. Manhattan prosecutors alleged that he directed hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels—$130,000 through his former attorney Michael Cohen—in an effort to conceal an alleged affair during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has consistently denied any sexual relationship with Daniels.

Under New York law, falsifying business records is typically a misdemeanor, but it can be charged as a felony when done to conceal or commit another crime. Prosecutors argued that Trump’s actions were intended to unlawfully influence the 2016 election, which he won. The case was one of four criminal indictments against Trump in 2023, but the only one to reach trial.

In sentencing on January 10, 2025, Judge Juan Merchan imposed no jail time or fine, delivering an unconditional discharge. While Trump avoided immediate penalties, the felony convictions remain on his record.

Trump’s legal team has since pursued multiple avenues to overturn the conviction, including appeals and attempts to relocate the case to federal court. Their central argument relies on a July 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision expanding presidential immunity. That ruling established “presumptive immunity” for official acts taken by a president, though the scope of that immunity remains unsettled.

Trump’s lawyers contend that actions taken during his presidency—including those related to the hush-money payments—should be shielded under this new standard. Hellerstein rejected that contention in his latest ruling, stating that paying hush money or covering up an affair “are not subsumed in presidential immunity.”

In November 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit directed Hellerstein to reevaluate the case in light of the Supreme Court’s immunity decision. However, the appeals court did not mandate a specific outcome. Hellerstein clarified on Friday that he was not acting as a “certifying clerk” for the appellate court, emphasizing the independence of the lower court’s review.

“Discussions regarding hush money payments to cover up the President’s relations with Stormy Daniels could not be an official act,” Hellerstein wrote. “An affair, or a cover-up of an affair, is not within the ‘outer perimeter’ of the President’s official responsibilities.”

Trump’s legal team has already announced plans to appeal Hellerstein’s decision, calling it “baseless and lawless.” In a statement, they vowed to continue fighting, asserting that the former president would “defeat Democrat weaponization at every turn.”

With this ruling, Trump’s avenues for dismissal in federal court appear nearly exhausted, though his broader appeals process remains ongoing. The case underscores the ongoing legal and constitutional debates surrounding presidential accountability in the post-presidency era.