Judge rejects Donald Trump’s request to intervene over hush money conviction

A federal judge has swiftly rejected Donald Trump’s request to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case, thwarting the former president’s latest bid to overturn his felony conviction and delay his sentencing.

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Trump’s lawyers permission to file paperwork asking the US District Court in Manhattan to take control of the case. He said they had failed to satisfy the burden of proof required for a federal court to seize the case from the state court where Trump was convicted in May.

The ruling leaves Trump’s case in state court, where he is scheduled to be sentenced on September 18.

Trump’s lawyers had sought to move the case to federal court so they could seek to have the verdict overturned and the case dismissed after the US Supreme Court’s ruling granting ex-presidents immunity from prosecution for official acts.

Judge Hellerstein, who denied Trump’s request last year to move the case to federal court, said nothing about how the Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling affected his “previous conclusion that the hush money payments” at issue in Trump’s case “were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority”.

The judge sidestepped a defence argument that Trump had been the victim of “bias, conflicts of interest, and appearances of impropriety” at the hands of the judge who presided over the trial in state court, Juan M Merchan.

“This court does not have jurisdiction to hear Mr Trump’s arguments concerning the propriety of the New York trial,” Judge Hellerstein wrote in a four-page decision.

Instead, he noted, Trump can pursue a state appeal or, after exhausting that path, seek review from the US Supreme Court

“It would be highly improper for this court to evaluate the issues of bias, unfairness or error in the state trial,” Judge Hellerstein wrote. “Those are issues for the state appellate courts.”

The ruling came hours after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork seeking his permission to pursue federal court intervention. Trump’s lawyers had initially asked the federal court to step in last week, but their papers were rejected because they had not first obtained Judge Hellerstein’s permission to file them, as required.

Earlier on Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors raised objections to Trump ‘s effort to delay post-trial decisions in the case while he sought to have the federal court step in.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office argued in a letter to the judge presiding over the case in state court that he had no legal obligation to hold off on post-trial decisions and wait for Judge Hellerstein to rule.

Prosecutors urged Judge Merchan not to delay his rulings on two key defence requests: Trump’s call to delay sentencing until after the November election, and his bid to overturn the verdict and dismiss the case after the US Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.

Judge Merchan has said he will rule on September 16 on Trump’s motion to overturn the verdict. His decision on delaying sentencing is expected in the coming days.

Trump was convicted in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a 130,000-dollar hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels, whose affair allegations threatened to disrupt his 2016 presidential run. He has denied her claims and said he did nothing wrong.

Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years behind bars. Other potential sentences include probation or a fine.