Judge Rejects Trump's Bid to Move Hush Money Case to Federal Court
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A US federal judge on Tuesday denied former President Donald Trump's second and last-ditch bid to transfer his New York hush money case to the federal court.
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York found that there was no good cause to grant Trump’s lawyers permission to even file a motion. Trump's attorneys filed a notice of appeal late Tuesday evening, NBC News reported.
The judge's order said that in arguing “good cause” to move the case, Trump primarily argued that the state judge presiding over the criminal case, Juan Merchan, is biased against him and that the US Supreme Court’s immunity ruling from July presents a valid federal defense for the hush money case.
Hellerstein rejected both arguments, finding first that a state court judge’s alleged bias does not present a federal question that would justify jurisdiction in a federal court, and was an issue for a state appeals court to decide.
Hellerstein said he was standing by his July 2023 conclusion -following briefing and an evidentiary hearing- that removal of the case was not warranted because the case was centered on Trump's personal actions.
