New York judge blasts Trump’s timing in attempt to overturn hush money conviction
A New York federal judge on Wednesday indicated he is unlikely to approve President Donald Trump’s request to move his so-called “hush money” case from state court to federal court in Manhattan, where Trump hopes to argue presidential immunity could overturn his 2024 conviction for falsifying business records to conceal payments meant to bury negative press before the 2016 election.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Bill Clinton appointee, told Trump’s lawyers during nearly three hours of oral arguments that simply being unhappy with the outcome in state court does not justify moving the case. “The fact that someone is unhappy with the strategic decision they got does not render it good cause,” Hellerstein said. Trump was convicted in May 2024 on 34 felony counts after a Manhattan jury found he directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to pay $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels and disguised the payments as legal fees, sometimes signing checks from the Oval Office during his first term.
Trump’s attorneys argue that the jury should not have heard some testimony because a 2024 Supreme Court ruling grants broad immunity to the president for acts within the “outer perimeter” of official duties. They claim evidence presented in the trial, including testimony from former aide Hope Hicks about killing stories related to Trump’s personal affairs, improperly exposed him to criminal liability for conduct tied to his office.
During the hearing, defense lawyer Jeffrey Wall asked Hellerstein to allow the case to transfer to federal court so the immunity issues could be resolved there. Prosecutors and Hellerstein countered that the hush money payments were private acts, not official presidential conduct, and that Trump waited too long—59 days after the Supreme Court ruling—to raise the removal argument. Hellerstein noted that Trump appeared to be seeking “two bites at the apple” by first litigating in state court and then attempting to move the case.
The state maintains the charges stem from personal, “wholly unofficial conduct,” and that evidence of official acts does not transform the case into one subject to federal removal. Hellerstein did not issue an immediate ruling but promised an opinion soon. Ten days before Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, the state court judge formally sentenced Trump on the 34 counts, imposing an unconditional discharge that solidified his conviction without requiring jail time or other tangible penalties.
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