Overview
- U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected President Trump’s renewed request on Friday, August 28, 2026, saying the arguments were “neither new nor legally sufficient” and that Trump failed to show the required good cause and diligence.
- Hellerstein concluded the charged conduct was private and not an official act, writing that payments to cover up a personal affair cannot be shielded by presidential immunity.
- This is the third time Hellerstein has denied removal to federal court after an initial pretrial bid and a post-trial request, following a 2nd U.S. Circuit order that asked him to reconsider in light of the Supreme Court’s July 2024 immunity ruling.
- The decision leaves Trump’s May 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and his January 10, 2025 unconditional discharge in the New York state system while his lawyers pursue a fresh federal appeal and ongoing state-court appeals.
- The ruling narrows the immediate legal path for Trump by keeping the case in state court but creates a likely multi-track appeals fight that could move through the federal appeals courts and possibly back to the Supreme Court.