A judge has rejected former President Trump's request to move a New York hush-money criminal case from state court to federal court, citing the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said nothing in the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling changes his view that private payments to adult film stars are unrelated to the president's official duties.
He previously said that Trump's payment to Michael Cohen, the former lawyer who brokered the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, was not an official act of his presidency.
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Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump speaks during a rally at First Summit Arena at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke) (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)
“My judgment regarding the restitution of hush money stands true regardless of who bears the burden — the public or Mr. Trump,” Judge Hellerstein wrote in his decision. “The Supreme Court's decision does not affect my prior conclusion that hush money payments are private, informal acts outside the scope of executive power.”
The Supreme Court's 2023 immunity ruling limits prosecutors from pointing to official acts as evidence that a president's private conduct was illegal. Trump's lawyers have argued that jurors in the hush-money case should not have heard evidence from former White House staffers about how the then-president reacted to reports of the Daniels deal.
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Former President Donald Trump is back in court for his hush money trial, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York. (Pool Photo by Michael M. Santiago/via Associated Press)
Trump denies the charges and calls the prosecution a political witch hunt aimed at undermining his bid for presidency.
“This election interference witch hunt does not require any sentencing. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's order, this case should be dismissed along with the other Harris-Biden mischief cases,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “President Trump and his legal team will continue to fight to bring this mischief case to federal court and put a permanent end to this scourge.”
Trump also accused the New York judge who presided over the case, Juan Marchan, of having a conflict of interest and alleging he is biased against him, citing Marchan's daughter, Lauren Marchan, a vocal supporter of Democratic candidates.
Former President Donald Trump appeared in hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 30. (Stephen Hirsch Pool/Getty Images)
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent a letter to Marchan on August 30 saying that Trump's request to have his New York criminal case transferred to federal court should wait until a judge rules on his motion to vacate and his request for a stay of sentencing due to presidential immunity.
“We recognize that the concerns Defendants have expressed about timing are the result of Defendants' own strategic and dilatory litigation tactics,” the letter said.
Judge Marchan is scheduled to rule on the motion on September 16th.
