Humiliation for Trump as judge blocks third desperate attempt to drag Stormy Daniels conviction out of New York
A federal judge has rejected Donald Trump’s latest attempt to move his New York hush-money criminal case to federal court. The decision matters because a federal venue could have offered another route for challenging the state-court conviction.
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Trump’s request did not present new or legally sufficient grounds for transfer and that he had not shown good cause or diligence. It was Trump’s third unsuccessful effort to move the case, in which a New York jury convicted him on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records linked to a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
- Judge rejects Trump’s third bid to move case federally
- Court cites insufficient new legal grounds
- Conviction involves 34 falsified-records counts
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Trump’s advocates can argue that seeking federal review was a legitimate effort to test whether conduct connected to a presidential campaign and former federal officeholder raises federal legal questions. They may contend that the consequences of a criminal conviction warrant pursuing every procedurally available avenue, especially where they believe state proceedings involved contested applications of law.
The case against
Supporters of the ruling can argue that removal to federal court is governed by clear procedural requirements and cannot simply be used as an additional route to revisit an unfavourable state-court outcome. They would emphasise the judge’s finding that the application raised no sufficient new basis and was not pursued with the required diligence, while respecting the state court’s jurisdiction over alleged violations of New York law.