President Donald Trump continues to press to overturn or relocate his 34 New York felony convictions — a strategy a federal judge described as futile after nearly three hours of argument.
Longtime legal reporter Adam Klasfeld of All Rise News noted that U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein — an appointee of former President Bill Clinton — interrupted the proceedings dismissively: “I think we are beating a dead horse.”
A jury previously convicted Trump on counts of falsifying business records tied to alleged hush-money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Trump’s team has argued that some evidence should be suppressed on executive-privilege grounds and that the case belongs in federal court rather than New York state court. That theory faces an obvious hurdle: Trump was not president in 2016 when the alleged conduct occurred.
Klasfeld warned that if Hellerstein accepted the removal argument, it would hand Trump a victory in his broader effort to challenge the criminal prosecution. But the reporter — and Hellerstein — stressed that moving the case would change little in practice. The immediate procedural consequence would be quicker access to federal appellate review and a faster path, potentially, to the Supreme Court. The underlying guilty verdicts on the 34 counts, however, would transfer with the case. Crucially, a presidential pardon covers only federal convictions, not state ones.
After the verdicts, Trump received neither a fine nor jail time. New York Judge Juan Merchan explained that the only lawful sentence that would not conflict with the presidency was an “unconditional discharge” on all counts.
Trump has sought to appeal and to remove the case to federal court more than once. In its second action, the appeals court returned the matter to Hellerstein and asked him to explain why the Supreme Court’s holding about presidential immunity didn’t automatically require a federal forum. Hellerstein told attorneys that by choosing to litigate the effects of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling in state court, Trump waived the right to removal.
“That’s a strategic decision,” the judge said.
Trump attorney Jeff Wall told reporters that “any sensible litigant” would pursue the same approach, according to New York Daily News reporter Molly Crane-Newman on BlueSky. Hellerstein dismissed that view: “Not so,” he said.
Hellerstein also criticized the timing of the second removal request. With an adverse state-court ruling looming, Trump filed that request nearly 60 days later — beyond the 30-day statutory window. The judge described the move as an attempt at a “second bite of the apple,” which the removal statute does not permit. Arguments that the delay was intended as a courtesy to Judge Merchan failed to persuade Hellerstein, who called the choice to litigate in state court “fatal” to the immunity claim in that forum.
Legal observers note practical consequences of a felony conviction vary by jurisdiction. The Law Dictionary summarized some effects: in Virginia a felony can strip voting rights, while in Florida certain non-violent felons retain voting privileges. International travel can be restricted — Canada, for example, may require a background check and deny entry to felons. State laws also differ on firearm possession and employment eligibility; some occupations and the U.S. Armed Forces bar felons. Despite those implications, Trump was elected after the convictions were handed down.
