President Donald Trump’s latest effort to get his 34-count criminal conviction tossed again failed Friday when a judge blocked his bid to move the case to a federal court.
For the third time in roughly three years, Judge Alvin Hellerstein of New York ruled against the president – this time, reiterating that Trump’s request was “neither new nor legally sufficient.”
“He has failed to show good cause and diligence,” Hellerstein wrote in the order.
Trump has sought to dismiss the state conviction against him ever since a New York jury found him guilty of business fraud in May 2024. The case, known as the “hush money” case, stemmed from his attempts to cover up payments sent to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The payments were to help cover up an alleged affair between Trump and the actress that could have threatened his presidential campaign.
In this instance, the president asked a judge to move his case from state to federal jurisdiction, in the hopes of bringing the case to the Supreme Court, which has largely displayed a willingness to side with Trump.
Already, Hellerstein had ruled against Trump on the matter. But last year, a three-judge panel for the Second Circuit asked him to reconsider Trump’s request, specifically after the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
Hellerstein, a Bill Clinton appointee, had expressed deep skepticism over Trump’s request during oral arguments in February, accusing Trump’s lawyers of taking “two bites of the apple.”
In 2024, Trump’s personal attorneys – now-Attorney General Todd Blanche and federal Judge Emil Bove – had initially asked the New York state trial judge to allow Trump to move his case to federal court, rather than a federal judge.
That was after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for actions related to “official acts” while in office. Prosecutors argued, however, Trump’s efforts to hide payments to Daniels were private actions, not official.
“You made your choice and sought two bites of the apple; you should have gone to federal court first,” Hellerstein told Trump’s new attorneys in February.
The ruling Friday reaffirms Hellerstein’s initial decision on the matter.
“Paying hush money to an adult film star or engaging in a cover-up of an embarrassment are not subsumed in presidential immunity,” the judge wrote in the court filing.
The “hush money” case revolved around a payment scheme Trump engaged in with his then-attorney Michael Cohen to prevent Daniels, an adult film star, from coming forward about an alleged affair before the 2016 presidential election.
Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 for the rights to her story, and then Trump reimbursed Cohen through a series of checks – some of which were cut after he was elected. Trump falsely claimed the payments were legal expenses.
After the jury’s conviction, Trump became the first president to be convicted of a felony.
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