A federal judge has denied Donald Trump’s attempt to transfer his criminal “hush money” prosecution in Manhattan to federal court, leaving the case under the authority of New York state prosecutors and judges.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein issued the ruling on July 19, 2023, concluding that Trump did not meet the legal requirements to justify federal jurisdiction over the charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The decision is a key setback for Trump’s legal team, which had argued that the alleged conduct underlying the case related to Trump’s official duties as president.
In his 25-page opinion, Judge Hellerstein stated that the actions at the heart of the indictment “were purely a personal matter of the president, a cover-up of an embarrassing event.” He wrote that Trump “has failed to show that the conduct charged is for or relating to any act performed by or for the president under color of the official acts of a president.”
The judge added, “The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was a purely personal item of the president, a cover-up of an embarrassing event. Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president’s official acts.”
Trump’s lawyers had argued that the charges, which stem from payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, should be heard in federal court because the alleged conduct occurred while he was president and involved official duties. They relied on a federal removal statute that allows certain criminal cases against federal officials to be shifted to federal court if the alleged acts were performed under color of office.
Judge Hellerstein disagreed, writing that the “alleged conduct does not relate to any act under color of the president’s office.” He found that neither the payments nor the alleged falsification of business records to conceal them qualified as official presidential acts.
The ruling means that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office will continue to prosecute the case in New York state court. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, all tied to his company’s reimbursement of payments made to Daniels before the 2016 election.
Bragg’s team has consistently maintained that the case involves violations of state law, not federal law. The district attorney’s office opposed the transfer, arguing that Trump’s actions were personal and unrelated to his role as president.
With Judge Hellerstein’s ruling, Trump’s legal team loses a procedural tool that could have shifted the case to a potentially more favorable federal forum. The case will now proceed under the supervision of New York state judges, with a trial date yet to be determined.
Trump’s attorneys may appeal the decision, but the ruling leaves little doubt about the immediate legal landscape. The judge’s detailed opinion spells out why federal court is not the proper venue for these charges, focusing on the personal nature of the alleged conduct.
Judge Hellerstein wrote:
“The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was a purely personal item of the president, a cover-up of an embarrassing event. Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president’s official acts.”
The full details of Judge Hellerstein’s decision and its implications for Trump’s criminal defense can be found in Courthouse News Service’s reporting.
This ruling keeps the high-profile prosecution in the hands of New York state authorities, ensuring local legal standards and procedures will control the outcome. The legal battle is far from over, but Trump will have to fight these charges where prosecutors wanted them: state court, not federal.
There’s no federal escape hatch for state-level charges, just the law, the facts, and the courts that were built to handle them.
