In a major setback for former President Donald Trump, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled on Tuesday that Trump’s criminal prosecution involving hush money payments will continue in New York state court.
The judge denied Trump’s request to transfer the case to federal court, citing a lack of “good cause” for the move.
Judge Hellerstein’s judgment followed Trump’s claims that the New York courts were biased against him and that his trial judge handled presidential immunity issues wrongly.
Hellerstein, on the other hand, denied the claims of bias, underlining that federal courts lack authority to hear complaints of bias in state courts. He suggested that such issues should be decided by state appellate courts.
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On the issue of presidential immunity, Judge Hellerstein reaffirmed a previous decision that Trump’s payments to an adult film actress were personal and unconnected to his official duties as president. “Nothing in the Supreme Court’s opinion affects my previous conclusion that the hush money payments were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority,” he said.
Trump’s attempt to have his case moved to federal court was part of a larger strategy to fight the ongoing New York prosecution, which he argues is politically motivated and harmful to his 2024 presidential candidacy.
As part of this effort, Trump had requested that Judge Juan Merchan postpone decisions on numerous other motions, including requests for presidential immunity and his sentencing, until the federal court ruled on the case transfer.
Meanwhile, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has urged Judge Merchan to move on with the pending motions, accusing Trump of adopting “strategic and dilatory litigation tactics” to stall the proceedings.
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Although prosecutors have left it to the judge’s discretion to decide whether to postpone Trump’s sentencing, they have asked for a fast settlement of the case.
Trump was convicted in May on 34 charges of falsifying business documents in connection with a hush money payment made to an adult film actress. This payment was allegedly made to keep her quiet regarding claims of an affair with Trump, which he has denied, before to the 2016 presidential election.
The payment has become a main element of the prosecution’s case, with Trump’s defense team attempting to undercut both the credibility of the allegations and the neutrality of the New York courts.
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