In a setback for former President Donald Trump’s attempt to transfer the criminal hush money case in New York from state court to federal court, a U.S. judge has rejected his effort. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that Trump had not demonstrated a connection between the alleged misconduct and his role as president. Trump argued that the case should be heard in federal court because the alleged crimes took place while he was in office and therefore immune from prosecution. However, Judge Hellerstein expressed skepticism during a hearing over this argument. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accuses Trump of directing his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay $130,000 to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter, a claim Trump denies. The indictment charged Trump with falsifying business records, but his legal team argued that these charges should be considered violations of U.S. election law, superseding the state’s authority. The ruling by Judge Hellerstein, appointed by President Bill Clinton, adds to the challenges faced by Trump as he seeks the Republican presidential nomination for 2024. His lawyers have also unsuccessfully tried to remove New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan from the case, claiming bias against their client. The hush money trial is scheduled to begin on March 25. The article speculates that Trump’s motive for moving the case to federal court might have been to gain tactical advantages, such as a more favorable jury pool. However, the default explanation could be to simply delay the proceedings and waste prosecutorial resources. Additionally, the move to federal court would have removed Judge Merchan from the case. The article also mentions other legal challenges faced by Trump, including his indictment in federal court in Florida over his handling of classified government documents. Despite facing multiple cases and investigations, Trump maintains that they are part of a Democratic effort to undermine his campaign. In arguing for the transfer to federal court, Trump’s lawyer claimed that the alleged payments were made within the scope of his presidential authority. However, the prosecutor countered that personal checks, even if written in the Oval Office, do not constitute official acts. The judge suggested that the state court could handle the case justly. The case is titled New York v. Donald Trump in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
