Donald Trump’s request to move hush money case to federal court in hope of having it overturned is rejected by judge ahead of sentencing in two weeks

A federal judge on Tuesday swiftly rejected Donald Trump’s request to intervene in his hush-money criminal case in New York, denying the former president’s bid to overturn his conviction before his sentence is announced in two weeks.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Trump’s request to move the case before trial, saying the defense had not met the high burden of proof required to change jurisdiction and that Trump’s conviction for falsifying corporate records related to his personal life, not official acts that the Supreme Court has ruled immune from prosecution.

In a four-page ruling, the judge wrote that the Supreme Court’s July 1 decision did not alter his earlier finding that the hush-money payments in Trump’s case “were private, unofficial acts outside the bounds of the executive branch.”

Hellerstein dodged a defense complaint that Trump’s trial in state court was plagued by “bias, conflicts of interest and the appearance of irregularities,” writing that he “has no jurisdiction to hear Trump’s arguments regarding the propriety of the New York trial.”

The judge’s ruling follows a request by Trump’s lawyers to the Manhattan District Court to transfer the case from state court, where it was heard Thursday night, to the district court.

They argued that the historic prosecution violated their client’s constitutional rights and conflicted with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.

In addition, the office sent a letter to Trial Judge Juan M. Merchan on Tuesday objecting to Trump’s attempt to delay post-trial decisions while he sought to have the U.S. District Court in Manhattan intervene.

Merchan is expected to rule soon on two key defense motions: Trump’s request that the judge delay his Sept. 18 sentencing until after the November election, and his request that the judge overturn his conviction and dismiss the case in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Merchan has said he will rule on Trump’s motion to overturn the conviction on Sept. 16. His decision on whether to delay sentencing is expected in the coming days.

Trump’s lawyers argue that sentencing as scheduled, just two days after Merchan’s expected immunity decision, does not give Trump enough time to consider next steps, including a possible appeal, if the judge upholds the sentence.

They also argued that a conviction on Sept. 18, roughly seven weeks before Election Day, would amount to election interference. In a court filing last week, they raised the specter that Trump could be sent to prison just as early voting gets underway.

Prosecutors have not yet taken a position on whether to delay sentencing, leaving Merchan to pursue an “appropriate post-trial schedule.” In their letter Tuesday, they said they were open to a schedule that would allow “sufficient time” to consider Trump’s motion to vacate the verdict, but would also allow him to be sentenced “without unreasonable delay.”

Trump’s lawyers asked the federal court to intervene last week, but their filings were rejected because they did not receive the necessary permission from Hellerstein to file the case.

Former President Donald Trump waits for the start of proceedings on the second day of jury selection at Manhattan Criminal Court, April 16, 2024, in New York

Former US President Donald Trump (center) gestures to the media and crowd outside Trump Tower after a jury found him guilty on all 34 charges in his criminal trial in New York

Trump was convicted of falsifying corporate records to conceal a hush-money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels (pictured)

Hours after they filed papers Tuesday asking Hellerstein for permission to proceed, he issued a statement denying it.

Before Hellerstein analyzed Trump’s immunity claims, he quickly debunked the defense’s oft-repeated claims that Merchan had treated Trump unfairly. He secured a gag order and refused to delay the trial until the Supreme Court rules, citing Merchan’s daughter as a Democratic political adviser.

Merchan last month rejected Trump’s latest request to recuse himself from the case, saying Trump’s demand was a rehash of “falsehoods and unsubstantiated assertions” about his ability to remain impartial. A state appeals court recently upheld the gag order.

“It would be highly inappropriate for this Court to consider issues of bias, unfairness, or error in the state process,” Hellerstein wrote. “Those are issues for the state appellate courts.”

Instead, he noted, Trump could appeal to the state or file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court. That court’s immunity ruling limits the prosecution of former presidents for official acts and restricts prosecutors from using official acts as evidence that a president’s unofficial acts were illegal.

Trump’s lawyers have argued that prosecutors rushed to trial instead of waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on presidential immunity. They also say prosecutors erred by showing the jury evidence that should not have been allowed under the ruling, including former White House staffers describing Trump’s responses to news coverage of the gag order and tweets he sent as president in 2018.

Protesters hold banners and flags outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in May

Trump was convicted in May of 34 felonies, including falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. The allegations of an affair by Stormy Daniels threatened to derail his 2016 presidential bid.

Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen paid Daniels and later received compensation from Trump, whose firm recorded the fees as legal fees.

The former president claims the stories are false, that the fees related to legal work and were properly recorded, and that the case against him was part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” aimed at damaging his current presidential campaign.

Falsification of business data is punishable by up to four years in prison. Other possible penalties include probation or a fine.

Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime.