Judge rejects Trump’s bid to move hush money case to federal court
A judge on Wednesday rejected former President Trump’s bid to move his hush money criminal case to federal court, ruling that the allegations are not connected to Trump’s role as president.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee, granted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) office’s request to keep the case in New York state court.
Trump had argued the case must be moved to federal court because he was being prosecuted for an act under the color of his office as president and that Bragg’s prosecution was politically motivated.
Manhattan prosecutors charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records, accusing him of making a series of false entries as he reimbursed his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, in part to conceal a $130,000 hush payment that Cohen made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump pleaded not guilty.
The former president’s lawyers argued that Trump hired Cohen to handle his personal affairs “solely because he was President of the United States” and that the reimbursements were truthful legal expenses made while Trump was serving in the White House.
“The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was a purely a 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. It does not reflect in any way the color of the President’s official duties,” Hellerstein wrote.
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