Trump loses latest bid in Stormy Daniels hush-money case: ‘There is no way’ payments ‘could be an official act,’ judge says

Donald Trump suffered another legal setback in his long-running battle over his 34 felony convictions after a federal judge rejected the president’s latest attempt to move his Stormy Daniels hush-money case from New York state court to federal court, Wonderwall.com can report.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Trump’s bid to file a second notice of removal on August 28, ruling that the president had failed to show the “good cause” required to revive his effort to transfer the criminal case to federal court.

Hellerstein previously rejected Trump’s attempt to move the case, but a federal appeals court sent the matter back to him last year to reconsider in light of the Supreme Court’s landmark 2024 presidential immunity ruling.

Trump was convicted in May 2024 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records following a Manhattan trial centered on a $130,000 payment his former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen made to Daniels, an adult film star whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, shortly before the 2016 presidential election.

Judge rejects Trump’s presidential immunity argument

Prosecutors alleged Cohen paid Daniels to prevent her from publicizing an alleged intimate encounter with Trump ahead of the election and that Trump later reimbursed Cohen through payments falsely recorded as legal expenses. Trump denied Daniels’ claims.

The president has argued that the Supreme Court’s 2024 presidential immunity ruling, which established broad immunity from criminal prosecution for a president’s official acts, meant some of the evidence and testimony introduced at his trial should not have been allowed.

But Hellerstein rejected Trump’s argument, concluding that the prosecution arose from private conduct unrelated to his federal office.

“There is no way that discussions regarding hush money payments to cover up the president’s relations with Stormy Daniels could be an official act,” the judge wrote.

Judge says alleged affair falls outside official duties

Hellerstein further concluded that an alleged affair, or efforts to cover one up, fell outside the “outer perimeter” of a president’s official responsibilities.

Trump had also argued that evidence involving White House staffers, including former Communications Director Hope Hicks, concerned his official duties.

Hellerstein disagreed, writing that “a president’s assistant can work on unofficial, personal matters for the president.”

Hellerstein also took issue with the timing of Trump’s latest attempt to move the case to federal court.

Trump first asked New York Judge Juan Merchan to dismiss his conviction following the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling before returning to federal court. At a February hearing, Hellerstein characterized that as a strategic choice.

“You made a choice. You sought two bites at the apple,” the judge told Trump’s attorneys at the time.

In his August 28 ruling, Hellerstein again characterized the delay as a “quintessential strategic decision,” concluding that Trump had waited too long to file his renewed removal request.

The judge further ruled that federal law did not provide a basis to remove the case following a verdict, sentencing and entry of judgment.

Trump was sentenced in January 2025 to an unconditional discharge, meaning he received no jail time, probation or fine. His appeal of the conviction remains pending in New York state court.

“I reaffirm my former decision. The president’s motion is denied,” Hellerstein wrote, concluding that Trump’s latest grounds for removal were “neither new nor legally sufficient.”

Trump’s legal team immediately appealed Hellerstein’s ruling.