Trump fails again to undo hush money conviction

In a setback for former President Donald Trump, a federal judge on Friday denied his request to transfer his hush money conviction from a New York state court to federal court and have it dismissed under presidential immunity claims. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein reiterated his prior decision, rejecting Trump's arguments as neither fresh nor legally sound, emphasizing that he had not demonstrated good cause or diligence.

This marks the third time Hellerstein has thwarted Trump's efforts to have the U.S. District Court in Manhattan take over the case from the New York court where he was tried and convicted. The 2024 guilty verdict made Trump the first U.S. president to face a criminal conviction. Trump is also pursuing an appeal of his conviction through the state court system, a process that is still underway.

Hellerstein's ruling was issued following a federal appeals court's directive last year to reconsider his earlier denial. During February's oral arguments, Hellerstein criticized Trump's legal team for employing tactics that amounted to attempting to achieve the same result twice. Neither Trump's legal representatives nor Hellerstein provided immediate responses to requests for comment.