A federal judge defied the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity and dismissed Trump’s request to transfer Alvin Bragg’s ‘hush money’ case to a federal court.
Despite last week’s plea from President Trump’s legal team for federal court intervention in Alvin Bragg’s ‘hush money’ case, following the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity, the request was denied.
In July, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Trump has absolute immunity for his core Constitutional powers.
The evidence used by Alvin Bragg to indict Trump included actions taken during his presidency.
For instance, Alvin Bragg claimed that Trump invited National Enquirer CEO David Pecker to the White House in 2017 to express gratitude for refraining from publishing damaging tabloid stories during the 2016 election.
Nevertheless, Judge Alvin Hellerstein, appointed by Clinton, turned down Trump’s motion to transfer the case, stating that “nothing” in the Supreme Court’s ruling altered his previous determination that Trump’s payments were unofficial acts.
“Nothing in the Supreme Court’s opinion affects my previous conclusion that the hush money payments were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority,” Judge Hellerstein wrote in his decision Tuesday.
“Private schemes with private actors, unconnected to any statutory or constitutional authority or function of the executive, are considered unofficial acts,” Hellerstein wrote.
CNN reported:
A federal judge Tuesday denied Donald Trump’s request to move the New York hush money case to federal court, finding there is nothing in the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling that alters his view of the fact that the payments were “private, unofficial acts.”
Last week, the former president’s attorneys sought to move the state case to federal court, an effort they previously lost, citing the Supreme Court’s decision this summer that granted immunity for some of Trump’s conduct that fell within his official powers. They also urged the judge to postpone Trump’s sentencing, currently set for September 18.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the long shot bid, saying no facts have changed since he rejected Trump’s attempt to move the case last year. At the time, the judge found that Trump’s reimbursement to Michael Cohen, who facilitated hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, were not official acts he took as president.
Earlier this year, Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in a case where he was accused of making ‘hush payments’ to porn star Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, through his former attorney Michael Cohen.
The payments were allegedly intended to silence her and prevent the story of their supposed affair from being published in the National Enquirer.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed that Trump committed fraud by labeling the payment as “legal fees.”
Adding to the controversy, the case involving the hush money was assigned to Judge Juan Merchan, who was perceived as having strong left-leaning affiliations.
Trump’s legal team repeatedly called for Merchan to step down due to conflicts of interest involving his daughter Loren Merchan. It was revealed that Loren’s political firm had profited significantly from her father’s case against Trump.
Despite multiple recusal requests, Merchan rejected them all, leading to further tension in Trump’s “hush money” case.
Trump is set to be sentenced in the New York case on September 18th.
