US judge rejects Trump’s bid to switch hush-money case to federal court

What the report says

A US federal judge has again rejected Donald Trump’s effort to move his New York hush-money case into federal court, dealing another setback to the president’s bid to overturn his criminal conviction. According to Al Jazeera’s report, Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Trump’s latest arguments were not new and were not legally enough to justify the transfer.

The case stems from Trump’s 2024 conviction in New York, where a jury found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said the records were used to hide a $130,000 payment connected to adult film star Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump has denied any sexual relationship with Daniels and has argued that a 2024 Supreme Court ruling expanding presidential immunity should protect him.

Hellerstein rejected that reading of the law, saying the alleged hush-money arrangement and any cover-up were not official presidential acts. The judge had previously ruled against Trump on the same issue, though an appeals court later asked him to reconsider the matter in light of the Supreme Court decision. Trump’s lawyers said they would appeal again.

The case remains important because it is the only one of four criminal indictments Trump faced in 2023 that went to trial. While he received no jail time or fine, the conviction remained on his record after sentencing in January 2025, ahead of his second inauguration.