Federal Judge Rejects Trump's Second Bid to Move Manhattan Conviction to Federal Court

A federal judge has denied Donald Trump's latest attempt to transfer his New York criminal case, ruling his arguments are "neither new nor legally sufficient."

Federal Judge Rejects Trump's Bid to Transfer Manhattan Criminal Case

A Manhattan-based federal judge has again refused to move Donald Trump's New York criminal case to federal court, ruling that the president's arguments are "neither new nor legally sufficient," according to Law & Crime.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Bill Clinton appointee, issued a 35-page order Friday denying Trump's motion for leave to file a second notice of removal. "He has failed to show good cause and diligence," the order states. "His motion for leave to file a second notice of removal is denied."

A Years-Long Legal Battle

The removal fight began in May 2023, when Trump's legal team first attempted to shift the case — stemming from falsified business records tied to hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2020 presidential election — out of New York Supreme Court in Manhattan and into federal jurisdiction. The district court ruled against Trump in July 2023 and returned the case to the state court. Appeals failed to alter that outcome.

In May 2024, Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts. He filed a second removal notice in late August 2024, roughly two months before defeating Kamala Harris in the general election and returning to the White House as the 47th president. In January 2025, New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan issued an "unconditional discharge" at sentencing — leaving Trump's conviction on the books but imposing no further legal penalty.

Supreme Court Immunity Ruling at the Center

The second removal effort leaned heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court's July 2024 landmark ruling in Trump v. United States on presidential immunity. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard the case in June 2025, sent it back to the district court in November 2025 to reconsider Trump's motion in light of that decision.

Hellerstein, after months of additional motions and hearings, remained unconvinced.

The judge found that Trump had made a deliberate strategic choice: he deployed the presidential immunity argument as a defense during trial and later as a basis to seek dismissal — but not, at either stage, as grounds for federal removal. Only when it became clear the New York court was likely to reject his immunity motion and proceed to sentencing did Trump's team turn to federal court.

"Finally, 64 days later, and when it became apparent that the New York court likely intended to deny his motion to dismiss and sentence him two days after, Trump filed his motion in federal court," Hellerstein wrote.

'He Cannot Play One Court Against Another'

The judge's order sets out the removal standard plainly: a party must seek removal no later than 30 days after arraignment or before trial begins, whichever comes first. A late filing requires a showing of "good cause" — a bar Trump failed to clear.

"He 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," the order states.

Hellerstein cited precedent establishing that removal law does not permit a party to "experiment" in state court and then transfer proceedings to federal court once that experiment fails. Trump's own counsel, the judge noted, acknowledged at oral argument before the appeals court that Trump "could have sought removal immediately following the Supreme Court's decision." Instead, the president's team chose to litigate immunity in state court first.

"Trump seeks a 'second bite at the apple,' a result the law disfavors," Hellerstein wrote. "Trump's delay in filing for removal constitutes a 'quintessential strategic decision,' and the fact that he later came to view that decision as a poor one is not sufficient."

64-Day Gap Proves Fatal to the Claim

The judge also held that the sheer length of the delay — independent of the strategic considerations — was disqualifying.

"The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision July 1, 2024," Hellerstein noted. "It took 64 more days for Trump to move in this court for leave to remove on September 3, 2024. I hold that President Trump failed to show good cause."

The ruling marks another setback in Trump's sustained effort to move his only completed criminal case out of state jurisdiction. Despite his return to the presidency and the sentencing outcome that spared him any punishment, his conviction for falsifying business records remains intact — and, as of Friday, firmly within New York's court system.

Source: Law & Crime