Federal Appeals Court Revives Trump's Hush Money Conviction Challenge

Thu Nov 06 2025 20:40:34 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a significant legal development, a federal appeals court has ordered a lower court to re-evaluate Donald Trump's conviction related to hush money payments. This ruling gives Trump another chance to contest the conviction in federal court on grounds of presidential immunity.

On Thursday, a federal appeals court breathed new life into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his hush money conviction, ordering a review of a lower court's decision to keep the case in state court. The appellate judges indicated that important issues were not considered during the initial proceedings, especially evidence potentially linked to Trump's official acts as president. Trump's legal team argues that the case should be heard in federal court due to presidential immunity, a point the court will further examine.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday gave new life to President Donald Trump’s bid to erase his hush money conviction, ordering a lower court to reconsider its decision to keep the case in state court instead of moving it to federal court.

A three-judge panel in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein erred by failing to consider important issues relevant to Trump’s request to move the New York case to federal court, where he can seek to have it thrown out on presidential immunity grounds.

However, the appeals court judges stated they express no view on how Hellerstein should rule.

Hellerstein, nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton, has twice denied Trump’s requests to move the case. His first denial followed Trump’s March 2023 indictment, and the second was after Trump’s May 2024 conviction and a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling asserting that presidents cannot be prosecuted for official acts.

In the later ruling, which is pivotal in this decision, Hellerstein maintained that Trump’s lawyers had not met the high burden of proof necessary for changing jurisdiction. He argued that Trump’s conviction for falsifying business records pertains to his personal life rather than actions performed while in office, which the Supreme Court deemed immune from prosecution.

The judges also pointed out that Hellerstein should closely examine evidence claimed by Trump to relate to official acts.

If Hellerstein finds that the prosecution relied on evidence of official acts, he should determine whether Trump can argue these actions were part of his White House duties and whether Trump diligently sought to move the case to federal court.

Judges Susan L. Carney, Raymond J. Lohier Jr., and Myrna Pérez, who ruled on this matter, highlighted the complexity surrounding Trump's attempts to challenge the conviction.

Trump was convicted in May 2024 of 34 felony counts concerning falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. Trump continues to deny any wrongdoing.