Judge rejects Trump bid to make NY case federal

Donald Trump at Manhattan criminal trial

The New York prosecution is the only one of four felony cases Trump has not successfully delayed or halted

(Image credit: Justin Lane — Pool / Getty Images)

published 4 September 2024

What happened

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected Donald Trump's long-shot motion to move his New York criminal case to federal court. Trump was convicted on 34 fraud counts in May for paying hush money to a porn actress.

Hours after Trump's lawyers submitted their petition, Hellerstein said they hadn't met the legal bar to take the case out of state court. Nothing in the Supreme Court's July ruling that Trump has broad immunity for official acts as president "affects my previous conclusion that the hush money payments were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority," Hellerstein wrote. He also said Trump's allegations of "bias, conflicts of interest and appearances of impropriety" in the state trial must be adjudicated in state court.

Hellerstein's decision is a blow to Trump's "persistent efforts to escape the consequences" of the Manhattan jury's verdict, The New York Times said. The New York prosecution is the only one of four felony cases Trump has not successfully delayed or halted.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.