A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Donald Trump’s hush-money case involving Stormy Daniels would remain in New York state court, rejecting the former president’s bid to have the case be moved to a federal court.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein’s decision sets up Trump to stand trial in Manhattan as early as next spring—possibly the heart of peak campaign season as he vies for a return to the White House. Trump’s lawyers can appeal Hellerstein’s ruling to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.
In an “order and opinion granting motion to remand” obtained by The Daily Beast, Hellerstein wrote that Trump and his lawyers “improperly invoked” a U.S. code in hopes of getting the case’s jurisdiction shifted.
Defense attorneys argued the root of Trump’s charges were within the “color of his office” when he was president and belonged in a federal court. Hellerstein reportedly scoffed at that argument last month, however, foreshadowing Wednesday’s ruling.
The hush-money case was the first of a flurry of legal troubles to hit Trump this year. He was indicted in March and arrested a month later on allegations he schemed with then-lawyer Michael Cohen to save his 2016 presidential campaign by paying hush money to the porn star Stormy Daniels—a messy attempt to keep her quiet about an affair they had nearly a decade earlier.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg slapped Trump with 34 felony counts, accusing him of making fake business records to hide the hush-money and the reimbursements he provided to Cohen, who originally paid Stormy Daniels out of his own pocket.
Ever since his indictment, Trump’s lawyers have desperately tried to have the case moved to federal court, accusing Bragg of being biased. Trump also reportedly wanted to avoid Justice Juan Merchan, a state court judge who’s already presided over the criminal trial where a jury convicted the Trump Organization of tax fraud.