Hellerstein Rejects Trump's Federal-Transfer Bid for Hush Money Conviction — Third Denial

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein (SDNY) rejected Trump's effort to remove his 34-count New York felony conviction to federal court — the third denial of the removal bid, and the second since the Supreme Court's July 2024 presidential-immunity ruling. Trump had argued that evidence from his first term entitled him to immunity and that the trial court's alleged bias constituted "good cause" for a renewed removal attempt. Hellerstein was unmoved: Trump "cannot play one court against another; he cannot seek victory in one court, and then, when it becomes apparent that the court will rule against him, seek to remove his case to another court." On the immunity claim: "Paying hush money to an adult film star or engaging in a cover-up of an embarrassment are not subsumed in presidential immunity." And, rebuffing the implication that a 2025 Second Circuit remand (which had ordered him to reconsider in light of the immunity decision) predetermined the outcome: "Federal district courts are not certifying clerks." The ruling noted that Trump's original removal counsel were Todd Blanche and Emil Bove — now Attorney General and a federal judge, respectively. Trump's lawyers filed a notice of appeal within hours, returning the fight to the Second Circuit. The conviction stands: sentenced January 10, 2025 to an unconditional discharge, Trump remains the only US president convicted of felonies, with his parallel state appeal (First Department) not expected to rule for months and his final brief due mid-October.