A U.S. federal judge on Friday, August 28, 2026, denied Donald Trump's latest bid to transfer his hush money case to a federal court. Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that the grounds for a second removal cited by the defendant, Donald J. Trump, were neither new nor legally sufficient.
A federal appeals court had previously ordered Hellerstein to review Trump's request following the U.S. Supreme Court's historic presidential immunity ruling. Reaffirming his earlier decision, Judge Hellerstein concluded that the motion must be denied.
Trump was previously convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records linked to a 130,000-dollar hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford.
Contesting the verdict, Trump's legal team argued that the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling shielding official acts should invalidate certain evidence and testimony used by the prosecution. Trump's lawyers said they plan to appeal the latest decision.