A federal judge on Friday rejected President Trump’s bid to appeal his conviction in the New York ‘hush money’ case.
President Trump took the fight to a federal court, citing presidential immunity, after New York’s state courts denied his appeal efforts.
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee, denied Trump’s second attempt to move the appeal to a federal court.
Judge Hellerstein previously denied Trump’s motion, however, the US Court of Appeals vacated his ruling and directed the judge to reconsider.
On Friday, Judge Hellerstein said, “I will reaffirm my former decision.”
“Defendant Trump has exhausted all his defenses in the State Supreme Court. The state court jury, after a long trial, delivered a verdict against him, finding him guilty of all 34 counts of the indictment. Trump’s post-trial motions have been denied, including a motion to dismiss the indictment because of presidential immunity, largely making the very same argument that he makes now in his effort to show that he deserves a second chance to remove his case,” Judge Hellerstein wrote in a 35-page order reviewed by The Gateway Pundit.
“The grounds for a second removal cited by Defendant, Donald J. Trump, are neither new nor legally sufficient. He has failed to show good cause and diligence,” Judge Hellerstein wrote.
In May 2024, Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts after he was accused of paying porn star Stormy Daniels, AKA, Stephanie Clifford, ‘hush payments’ through his then-attorney Michael Cohen in a scheme to silence her and stop the story about their alleged affair from being published in the National Enquirer.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged Trump committed fraud because the payment was labeled “legal fees.”
Conflicted Judge Juan Merchan previously rejected Trump’s effort to overturn the felony conviction based on the presidential immunity argument after the Supreme Court ruled that US presidents have immunity from prosecution for official acts.
Last year, Judge Merchan ordered Trump to be sentenced in Bragg’s hush money case related to Trump’s payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
In January 2025, the US Supreme Court decided not stop Judge Merchan from sentencing Trump after a New York Appeals court denied Trump’s request to delay the sentencing.
Five Justices denied Trump’s bid to stop Judge Merchan’s sentencing. The four conservative justices would have approved Trump’s application to delay the sentencing.
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