Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein issued the Alvin Hellerstein hush money decision on Friday, again rejecting Donald Trump’s effort to move his conviction to federal court and dismiss it on presidential immunity grounds. It was the third time he blocked that strategy, and Trump’s legal team said it will appeal.
The ruling leaves Trump’s conviction in the New York court system. His state court appellate process remains pending while the federal removal effort stays closed for now.
Hellerstein’s Friday ruling
Hellerstein said the reasons Trump cited for renewing his request were “neither new nor legally sufficient.” He also wrote, “He has failed to show good cause and diligence.”
That language followed his earlier refusals in March 2023, after the indictment, and again after the trial. This time, he again declined to let the U.S. District Court in Manhattan take control of a case he said belonged in the New York court that tried it.
Stormy Daniels and the payment
Trump was convicted in May 2024 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records tied to a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. He received an unconditional discharge, which left the conviction intact but spared him punishment.
The case grew out of the payment linked to Stormy Daniels and a sexual encounter she said took place a decade earlier. Hellerstein’s ruling keeps that conviction in place while Trump continues to pursue relief in more than one forum.
2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Hellerstein last November to reconsider his post-trial ruling after the Supreme Court issued its July 2024 immunity decision. That ruling said presidents and ex-presidents cannot be prosecuted for official acts and that prosecutors cannot use official acts as evidence that unofficial actions were illegal.
Hellerstein still found Trump’s renewed arguments did not meet the standard for removal or dismissal. His order leaves the state appeal in place and keeps the federal-court route closed unless the appeal changes the outcome.
Trump’s legal team called the ruling “baseless and lawless” and said, “President Trump will be filing a powerful appeal, and will continue defeating Democrat weaponization at every turn.” The next step is Trump’s appeal of Hellerstein’s ruling, while the state court appellate process continues separately.
