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A federal judge Tuesday denied Donald Trump’s request to move the New York hush money case to federal court, finding there is nothing in the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling that alters his view of the fact that the payments were “private, unofficial acts.”
Last week, the former president’s attorneys sought to move the state case to federal court, an effort they previously lost, citing the Supreme Court’s decision this summer that granted immunity for some of Trump’s conduct that fell within his official powers. They also urged the judge to postpone Trump’s sentencing, currently set for September 18.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the long shot bid, saying no facts have changed since he rejected Trump’s attempt to move the case last year. At the time, the judge found that Trump’s reimbursement to Michael Cohen, who facilitated hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, were not official acts he took 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,” Hellerstein wrote in his decision Tuesday.
“Private schemes with private actors, unconnected to any statutory or constitutional authority or function of the executive, are considered unofficial acts,” he wrote.
Trump also claimed the case should be moved to federal court because he alleged Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, is biased against him.
Hellerstein said it was not his place to evaluate the New York trial.
“District Courts may not reverse or modify state judgments, even those containing constitutional infirmities because ‘to do so would be an exercise of appellate jurisdiction,’” Hellerstein wrote. He said the proper vehicle would be for Trump to appeal the conviction through the state courts. Trump has said he will appeal the decision, which in New York occurs after sentencing.
“It would be highly improper for this Court to evaluate the issues of bias, unfairness or error in the state trial,” Hellerstein wrote. The judge said for the same reasons, it would be improper for him to postpone Trump’s sentencing later this month.
Trump has separately asked Merchan to delay the sentencing until after the election. Prosecutors haven’t opposed that request, and the judge could issue a decision as soon as this week.
Trump has also argued in a motion to Merchan that his conviction should be overturned in light of the Supreme Court decision, which in part found that evidence of official acts can’t be used at trial. His attorneys said the jury should not have been allowed to hear the testimony of former White House aide Hope Hicks or see social media posts Trump made while in office.
Merchan said he will rule on that motion on September 16.
Trump could face as much as four years in prison when he is sentenced. He was convicted earlier this year of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
