Federal Judge Again Rejects Trump's Bid to Dismiss Hush Money Conviction on Immunity Grounds

The boundary between a president's official duties and personal liabilities has been drawn more sharply in federal court. A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's latest attempt to erase his 2024 felony conviction, ruling that paying hush money to an adult film star does not constitute an official presidential act.[1]

U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected Trump's third bid to transfer the Manhattan state court case to federal jurisdiction. The president's legal team had argued that the conviction should be dismissed under the Supreme Court's July 2024 ruling that granted presidents broad immunity from prosecution for official acts.[1][2]

Hellerstein dismantled that argument in a written decision, stating that the grounds for removal were "neither new nor legally sufficient." He emphasized that the conduct at the center of the case—falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels—was entirely personal.[5]

"There is no way that discussions regarding hush money payments to cover up the president's relations with Stormy Daniels could be an official act," Hellerstein wrote. "An affair, or a cover-up of an affair, is not within the 'outer perimeter' of the president's official responsibilities."[4][5]

The judge also dismissed Trump's claims that the inclusion of trial testimony from former White House aides and his social media posts infringed upon his executive immunity. Hellerstein noted that such evidence did not transform a personal cover-up into an official presidential function.[1][2]

The ruling follows a November 2025 directive from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had ordered Hellerstein to reconsider his previous denial of Trump's transfer request. The appellate court instructed him to evaluate whether the Supreme Court's immunity decision altered the legal landscape of the conviction.[3][4]

Hellerstein concluded that it did not, and he criticized the defense's procedural maneuvers. Addressing the defense's suggestion that his role was simply to pass the case along to the appellate level, he wrote sharply, "Federal district courts are not certifying clerks."[1][3]

The judge also pointed out that Trump's legal team waited nearly two months after the May 2024 guilty verdict before petitioning the federal court, choosing instead to first ask the state court judge to throw out the conviction. Hellerstein characterized this delay as a "quintessential strategic decision," noting that failing to achieve the desired result in state court did not justify a "second bite at the apple" in federal court.[5]

Trump's legal team immediately filed a notice of appeal. In a statement, a spokesperson for the president called Hellerstein's decision "baseless and lawless," asserting that established legal precedent mandates the case be moved to federal court and dismissed.[1]

"President Trump will be filing a powerful appeal, and will continue defeating Democrat weaponization at every turn," the statement read, characterizing the prosecution by the Manhattan District Attorney as a politically motivated "Witch Hunt."[2][5]

The decision leaves Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records intact. The guilty verdict, reached between his two terms in office, made him the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. He was ultimately sentenced to an unconditional discharge, which carried no jail time or probation but left the felony record in place.[1][5]

The president continues to challenge the conviction through the New York state appellate system. However, Friday's federal ruling closes a major avenue for federal intervention, ensuring that the legal battle over his 2016 campaign conduct will remain tethered to the state courts.[5]