NEW YORK — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump’s latest attempt to appeal his conviction in the New York hush-money case.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has denied a request by Trump’s lawyers to move the case out of state court. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to a porn star. Trump last week sought to have the case moved to federal court, where he hoped to overturn the guilty verdict.
As part of his transfer bid, he also attempted to postpone his September 18 sentence date.
In a four-page ruling, Hellerstein wrote that Trump did not meet the legal standard to bring the case in federal court.
Hellerstein said that as a federal judge, he does not have the authority to hear Trump’s complaints that he did not receive a fair trial in the state court system, which is independent of the federal judiciary.
“It would be highly inappropriate for this Court to consider issues of bias, unfairness, or error in the state process,” wrote Hellerstein, a Bill Clinton appointee. “Those are issues for the state appellate courts.”
Hellerstein also rejected Trump’s argument that his conviction should be overturned in light of the Supreme Court’s July decision on presidential immunity for official acts. The judge pointed to a ruling last year in which he denied Trump’s earlier request to move the case to federal court. In that ruling, Hellerstein concluded that the conduct at the heart of the case — Trump’s hush-money arrangement with Stormy Daniels — had nothing to do with Trump’s official duties as president.
Hellerstein said in his ruling on Tuesday that he was firm in his judgment.
“Nothing in the Supreme Court’s ruling changes my earlier conclusion that the hush-money payments were private, unofficial acts outside the bounds of executive power,” Hellerstein wrote.
Trump’s unusual move to transfer the case after his conviction is just one of several attempts the Republican presidential nominee has made in recent weeks to thwart the case.
Judge Juan Merchan, the New York State judge who presided over the trial, is currently considering Trump’s requests to overturn the conviction or delay the sentencing hearing until after Election Day.
The maximum penalty for falsifying corporate records is four years in prison, though some experts believe a much lighter punishment — such as a fine, community service or probation — is more likely in Trump’s case. Any sentence could be stayed while Trump appeals.
