Federal judge refuses to take over completed New York case
NEW YORK — A federal judge has rejected President Donald Trump’s renewed attempt to move his already-completed New York hush-money prosecution into federal court, leaving the historic 34-count felony conviction in place while Trump pursues further appeals.
U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein issued the decision Friday, August 28, after the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instructed him to reconsider an earlier denial and more closely examine Trump’s presidential-immunity arguments.
Hellerstein again concluded that the prosecution concerned Trump’s private conduct—not an act performed under presidential authority. The ruling does not create a new conviction or sentence, and it does not end Trump’s ability to appeal.
The conviction and the immunity argument
A Manhattan jury convicted Trump in May 2024 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said the records concealed reimbursements connected to a $130,000 payment made to adult-film actor Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Daniels said she had a sexual encounter with Trump; Trump has denied that claim and denied wrongdoing.
Trump argued that evidence presented at trial—including testimony from people who worked in his first White House and statements made while he was president—implicated the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision granting presidents broad criminal immunity for official acts.
Hellerstein rejected that theory. He found that arranging or concealing a payment tied to a personal embarrassment does not fall within the president’s official responsibilities, even when some related communications or bookkeeping occurred during a presidential term.
Read the source: Associated Press: Trump loses again in bid to erase hush-money conviction ↗
Timing also hurt Trump’s federal-court strategy
The judge separately found that Trump waited too long to pursue removal of the case after the Supreme Court issued its immunity decision. Rather than immediately returning to federal court, Trump first asked the state trial judge to set aside the verdict.
Hellerstein characterized that sequence as a strategic choice and rejected the effort to obtain another route after the state-court request proved unsuccessful. He also found no statutory basis for transferring a state prosecution after trial, conviction and sentencing had already concluded.
The procedural ruling matters: even if a defendant raises a federal constitutional defense, that does not automatically authorize a federal district judge to seize control of a completed state criminal case.
What remains unchanged—and what comes next
Trump’s conviction remains on the books. In January 2025, state Judge Juan Merchan imposed an unconditional discharge, meaning Trump received no jail time, fine or probation. That sentence avoided punishment while preserving the guilty judgment.
Trump’s lawyers filed notice Friday that they would appeal Hellerstein’s latest decision to the Second Circuit. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team called the ruling baseless and maintained that presidential immunity and other constitutional protections require dismissal.
Trump is also challenging the conviction through New York’s state appellate system. Neither appeal has produced a final ruling overturning the jury’s verdict, and claims that the case has been erased are false as of Saturday morning.
Read the source: New York Courts: People v. Donald J. Trump public case documents ↗
A significant legal setback, but not the final appeal
The decision is a meaningful setback because it closes—at least for now—the federal district-court route Trump hoped could lead to dismissal on immunity grounds. It also reinforces the boundary the Supreme Court drew between protected official presidential conduct and private behavior.
But the legal fight is not over. The Second Circuit can review Hellerstein’s reasoning, and Trump’s state appeal could raise separate questions about the evidence, trial procedures and application of presidential immunity.
The confirmed result is narrower than either side’s political rhetoric: one federal judge, acting after an appellate remand, again refused to remove the completed state case. What’s the Scoop With Broach will update this report if an appellate court stays, reverses or otherwise changes that ruling.
Read the source: Wikimedia Commons: Official White House portrait and public-domain status ↗
Sources and further reading
Associated Press: Trump loses again in bid to erase hush-money conviction ↗
Reuters: Trump loses bid to move completed New York criminal case to federal court ↗
New York Courts: People v. Donald J. Trump public case documents ↗
Wikimedia Commons: Official White House portrait and public-domain status ↗