A New York federal judge has denied Trump’s request to move his hush money criminal case from the state courts to the federal courts.
This comes after Trump requested the sentencing for the case, which Justice Juan M. Merchan scheduled for September 18th, moved to a date after the US presidential election. He sought to transfer it to the federal courts, hoping it would be overturned based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
The case’s sentencing is on September 18th, which could interrupt what is becoming a tight election race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, has said in a statement that the refusal to move the case attempts to interfere with the elections.
“There should be no sentencing in this Election Interference Witch Hunt,” Cheung said. “All of the other Harris-Biden Hoaxes should be dismissed.”
US District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein‘s four-page decision said that Trump’s lawyers did not meet the burden of proof required to move an already adjudicated case to the federal level. It also cited that Trump’s actions cannot fall under the protection of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision because what he did was not an official act.
Hellerstein said, “The hush-money payments were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority.”
The history of the hush money case
A jury convicted Trump in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records. The case stated Trump falsified business records to cover up for the hush money payments he was paying Stormy Daniels, a porn star, after a one-night stand in 2006.
Trump’s lawyers appealed the decision late on Tuesday. Cheung said in a statement that Trump’s Lawyers “will continue to fight to move this Hoax into federal court where it should be put out of its misery once and for all.”
Justice Merchan already delayed the sentencing for the case once in August after the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision in July. Justice Merchan is also scheduled to decide a motion made by Trump’s team about whether or not the case should be thrown out based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has stated that the presidential immunity decision has “no bearing on his prosecution.”
Hellerstein said that Trump’s lawyers’ complaints that bias and conflicts of interest plagued the case did not affect the fact that he “does not have jurisdiction to hear Mr. Trump’s arguments concerning the propriety of the New York trial.”
Hellerstein said in a footnote, “This request is improper and outside the district court’s jurisdiction,” suggesting that it was to delay his sentencing.
