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Trump hush money case stays in state Supreme Court in Manhattan: Judge
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Jul 19, 2023
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By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Jul 19, 2023
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The hush money case against former President Donald Trump will remain in New York state Supreme Court in Manhattan, despite a push by Trump’s legal team to move it into federal court, a judge has ruled.
Trump‘s team filed court papers asking the judge to move the case to federal court in May, on the grounds that the allegations relate to federal election laws and describe actions that were within the “color of his office” as president. The judge rebuffed that request.
Prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office charged Trump with falsifying business records in order to conceal payments made to his personal attorney at the time, Michael Cohen. Prosecutors have said that money was intended to be passed to adult film star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about her affair with Trump. The former president pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
“Reimbursing Cohen for advancing hush money to Stephanie Clifford cannot be considered the performance of a constitutional duty,” U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein wrote in an opinion dated Wednesday. “Falsifying business records to hide such reimbursement, and to transform the reimbursement into a business expense for Trump and income to Cohen, likewise does not relate to a presidential duty.”
The case, which kicked off a political firestorm with the first-ever criminal charges against a sitting or former U.S. president, made headlines this spring when Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury.
“Trump is not immune from the people's prosecution in New York Supreme Court,” the opinion reads. “His argument of immunity is not a colorable defense.”
Trump’s legal team declined to comment. The Manhattan DA’s office did not immediately respond.
The case is likely to head to trial as early as next spring. It is among a series of legal troubles that Trump, a Republican, faces as he continues his campaign to retake the presidency in the 2024 elections.
The former president also faces a separate federal criminal case in Florida over his alleged hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, which Trump frequently described as his “winter White House,” in Palm Beach.
The decision in the hush money case comes one day after Trump said on his social media network that he received a letter from special counsel Jack Smith regarding his investigation into interference in the 2020 elections, suggesting another indictment may be looming for the president over his role in the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
Tagged
public safety
manhattan
Alvin Bragg
donald trump
Politics
Michelle Bocanegra
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