• Judge Alvin Hellerstein denies Trump's bid to move his hush money case to federal court.
• The ruling marks the third rejection of Trump's requests regarding his conviction.
• Trump's legal team plans to appeal the decision, claiming it is baseless.
• Convicted in 2024, Trump faces 34 felony counts for falsifying business records.
• The case centers around a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to conceal an alleged affair.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has denied President Donald Trump's attempt to transfer his criminal hush-money case from state to federal court, a move aimed at overturning his felony conviction. This ruling, issued on Friday, marks the third rejection of Trump's requests as Hellerstein stated that Trump's arguments were "neither new nor legally sufficient" and that paying hush money was not covered by presidential immunity, according to Reuters, CBS News, Al Jazeera, and The Hill.

Judge Hellerstein ruled that discussions surrounding hush money payments to cover up Trump's alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels cannot be classified as "official acts" of the presidency. The payment of $130,000 was made to maintain silence and avoid any negative publicity during the 2016 election, and Hellerstein deemed that "an affair, or a cover-up of an affair, is not within the 'outer perimeter' of the President's official responsibilities," according to Reuters, CBS News, Al Jazeera, and The Hill.

Trump's lawyers expressed intent to appeal the decision, describing Hellerstein's ruling as "baseless and lawless," and claiming it contradicts the Supreme Court's previous decisions regarding presidential immunity. They maintain that the recent Supreme Court ruling expanded definitions of presidential immunity, which they argue should invalidate the accusations against Trump. “President Trump will be filing a powerful appeal, and will continue defeating Democrat weaponization at every turn,” stated a spokesperson for Trump's legal team, as reported by Reuters, CBS News, Al Jazeera, and The Hill.

This ruling is particularly significant as it follows Trump's conviction in 2024 for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, stemming from the hush money payment to Daniels. The Manhattan case was one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faced during his campaign for the presidency, but it was the only one that went to trial, according to Reuters, CBS News, Al Jazeera, and The Hill.