Donald Trump has failed in his bid to have his criminal "hush money" trial in New York heard by a different judge. The former US president had sought to have the case, involving payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, heard by a different judge. But Judge Juan Merchan on Wednesday rejected the request, saying there was no reason to change the venue or delay the trial. The trial, which involves allegations that Trump falsified business records, is due to begin on March 25. Mr. Trump had argued that because his late son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had once rented an apartment in the building where Judge Merchan's family has an apartment, it posed a conflict of interest for the judge to oversee the case. But Judge Merchan said he had questioned his family about the matter and they had told him they had never met Mr. Kushner or had any business dealings with him. The judge also noted that Mr. Trump had waited too long to make the request. Prosecutors say Trump illegally reimbursed his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment made to Daniels to keep her from going public about an alleged affair with Trump. The case is one of four criminal cases pending against Trump.

U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to move the jurisdiction of the "Porn Star Bribery Money Scandal" case from a federal court to a state court, but his efforts failed, according to several American media outlets on January 28th. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled in a decision that he denied the Trump administration's request to reconsider the submission of the second case to the U.S. District Court, which had already issued a guilty verdict against Trump in the "Stormy Daniels Payoff Case".

The case arose when adult film actress Stormy Daniels claimed that Trump had a sexual relationship with her in 2006 and that he paid her $130,000 (about 1.8 billion won) to keep the affair a secret in order to hide related legal fees under corporate accounts. Trump was accused of forging 34 entries in his books during the trial, and the federal court believed that transferring the case to a federal court could provide Trump with the benefit of presidential immunity.

However, Hellerstein ruled that it was impossible to transfer the case to a federal court at this stage, as the guilty verdict, sentencing, and court entry processes had already been completed. He stated that the content provided by Trump in his request was neither new nor legally sufficient. The incident, however, was purely personal and unrelated to Trump's official duties, the judge added.

The Trump side immediately appealed the judge's decision, with Trump's defense attorneys arguing that based on historical rulings on executive privilege, federal and New York state constitutions, and other established legal precedents, the witch hunt against Trump by Manhattan District Attorney should be reversed and transferred to a federal court.