August 28, 2026 / 6:28 PM EDT
/ CBS/AP
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A federal judge on Friday once again spurned President Trump's effort to erase his hush money conviction, rejecting the president's bid to move the state court case to federal court and have it dismissed on presidential immunity grounds.U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said Mr. Trump's reasons for renewing his request were "neither new nor legally sufficient," particularly his claims that trial testimony by former aides and a lawyer, along with his social media statements, infringe on presidential immunity."They do not; paying hush money to an adult film star or engaging in a cover-up of an embarrassment are not subsumed in presidential immunity," the judge said, referring to the $130,000 payoff to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.At one point, Hellerstein noted that the president's lawyers thought it was his job to merely certify the record in the state trial court to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals."Federal district courts are not certifying clerks," the judge wrote. It is the third time Hellerstein has blocked Mr. Trump from having the U.S. District Court in Manhattan seize control of the case from the New York state court where he was tried and convicted. By midafternoon Friday, Mr. Trump's legal team had notified the lower court it was appealing the ruling, which a spokesperson for the team called "baseless and lawless."
