在美国最高法院2024年就总统豁免权做出决定后，唐纳德·特朗普总统等待了“太长时间”，试图改变他的决定刑事封口费案从纽约到联邦法院，一名联邦法官说，周三-虽然他没有就此事作出最后决定。
特朗普不能赦免自己的州定罪，但他的律师表示，他的目标是让案件进入联邦上诉系统，并最终尽快提交最高法院。
特朗普于2024年5月30日被判犯有34项伪造商业记录的重罪，这些记录与向成年女演员斯托米·丹尼尔斯支付封口费有关。特朗普的一名律师周三辩称，针对特朗普的案件依赖于与特朗普作为总统的官方行为有关的证据，此前美国最高法院裁定特朗普有权推定豁免与他的公务有关的行为。
这些证据包括椭圆形办公室对话时任白宫通讯联络主任霍普·希克斯、社交媒体上关于特朗普时任律师迈克尔·科恩的帖子，以及前白宫助理马德琳·韦斯特胡特的证词。
特朗普的律师杰夫·沃尔(Jeff Wall)认为，检察官不必引入最高法院豁免意见所涵盖的证据，但一旦他们这么做了，“这就变成了与那些官方行为有关的起诉。”
海勒斯坦法官质疑审判中介绍的通信是否与总统职位有关，或者是非官方的，只是让特朗普“尴尬”。
赫勒斯坦说:“证据中最能说明问题的部分是记录本身的伪造，与任何种类的白宫目录或官方记录都没有关系。”
曼哈顿地区检察官办公室的吴兴华辩称，最高法院的意见只会影响可接受的证据，而不会影响指控，他说指控与特朗普的官方行为无关。
“被告似乎认为，如果引入官方行为的证据，就会在某种程度上改变犯罪行为。那不是真的，”吴说。
在最高法院于2024年7月做出豁免裁决后，特朗普首先要求审判法官、纽约州最高法院法官胡安·马科姆(Juan Merchan)撤销对他的定罪，然后选择要求转移到联邦法院，特朗普可以在那里试图推翻它。
这一请求是在最高法院判决后58天提出的，超过了通常的30天宽限期。
“看来你等得太久了，”法官赫勒斯坦在周三的听证会上说。"你不需要在法官面前通过动议."
沃尔认为，给默西玛一个先考虑这件事的机会是“合理的”，否则总统可能会对初审法官表现出“不尊重”。“这是任何明智的诉讼当事人都会做的，”沃尔说。
然而，赫勒斯坦似乎无动于衷。
“法官Merchan会高兴还是不高兴完全无关紧要，”他说。“你打算在州法院提起诉讼。只有当你感到失望时，你才会重新努力建立一个联邦论坛。”
Hellerstein还问，在州法院已经有了判决、判刑和未决上诉的情况下，将案件移交给联邦法院是否合适。
“如果地区法院的法官除了证明州法院的所作所为之外，没有什么可做的，这合适吗?”赫勒斯坦问道。
Wall承认Hellerstein除了采纳州法院的判决并将案件移交给美国第二巡回上诉法院之外别无选择。
“我们去第二赛道，”沃尔说。“你会在一天内完成这个。”
但赫勒斯坦似乎也不为特朗普的这部分论点所动。
“你想让我做的唯一一件事就是把纽约最高法院的判决作为我的判决。凭良心说，我不能这么做，”赫勒斯坦说。
法官Merchan判了特朗普去年被无条件释放，没有监禁，罚款或缓刑。检察官认为，该案件的“高级阶段”不利于将其移交给联邦法院。
特朗普被判犯有策划一起非法计划通过指导科恩向成人电影女演员斯托米·丹尼尔斯支付13万美元，以阻止她公开披露长期否认的与川普的性接触，来影响2016年总统大选。
特朗普正在通过州法院系统单独提起上诉。
Trump waited 'too long' to seek moving hush money conviction to federal court, judge says
President Donald Trump waited "too long" after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 decision on presidential immunity to try and move hiscriminal hush money casefrom New York into federal court, a federal judge said Wednesday -- though he did not make a final decision on the matter.
Trump cannot pardon himself on a state conviction but his attorneys said his aim is to get the case into the federal appellate system and ultimately in front of the Supreme Court as quickly as possible.
Trump was convicted May 30, 2024, of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels.An attorney for Trump argued Wednesday that the case against Trump relied on evidence related to Trump's official acts as president, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump was entitled topresumptive immunityfor acts related to his official duties.
That evidence includedOval Office conversationswith then-White House communications director Hope Hicks, social media posts about Trump's then-attorney Michael Cohen, and testimony from former White House aide Madeleine Westerhout.
Trump's attorney, Jeff Wall, argued that prosecutors did not have to introduce evidence covered by the Supreme Court's immunity opinion, but once they did, "this became a prosecution relating to those official acts."
Judge Hellerstein questioned whether the communications introduced at trial had anything to do with the presidency or were unofficial and merely "embarrassing" for Trump.
"The telling part of the evidence was the falsification of the records themselves that had nothing to do with any kind of White House directory or official records," Hellerstein said.
Steven Wu with the Manhattan district attorney's office argued that the Supreme Court opinion only affects admissibly of evidence and not the charges, which he said had nothing to do with Trump's official conduct.
"Defendant seems to think if evidence of official acts is introduced, that somehow transforms the criminal action.That is just not true," Wu said.
After the Supreme Court's immunity ruling in July 2024, Trump first asked the trial judge, New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, to vacate his conviction, then opted to ask for removal to federal court where Trump could try to overturn it.
The request, in late August, came 58 days after the Supreme Court decision -- beyond the customary 30-day grace period.
"It seems that you're waiting too long," Judge Hellerstein said during Wednesday's hearing. "You didn't have to go through a motion before Judge Merchan."
Wall argued it was "reasonable" to give Merchan a chance to consider the matter first or else the president would have risked showing "disrespect" to the trial judge."It is what any sensible litigant would do," Wall said.
Hellerstein, however, appeared unmoved.
"Whether Judge Merchan would have been pleased or displeased is totally irrelevant," he said."You intended to litigate in state court. Only when you sensed disappointment did you revert to an effort to have a federal forum."
Hellerstein also asked whether moving the case to federal court is appropriate when there has already been a verdict, sentencing and a pending appeal in state court.
"If there is nothing more for a district court judge to do other than to certify what the state court has done, is that appropriate?" Hellerstein asked.
Wall conceded there would be nothing for Hellerstein to do other than adopt the state court judgment and shuffle the case to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"On we go to the 2nd Circuit," Wall said. "You would be done with this in a day."
But Hellerstein also appeared unmoved by that part of Trump's argument.
"The only thing you want me to do is adopt the New York Supreme Court judgment as mine.In conscience I can't do that," Hellerstein said.
Judge Merchansentenced Trumplast year to an unconditional discharge without prison, fines or probation. Prosecutors have argued that the "advanced stage" of the case weighs against moving it into federal court.
Trump was found guilty of orchestrating anillegal schemeto influence the 2016 presidential election by directing Cohen to pay $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her from publicly revealing a long-denied sexual encounter with Trump.
Trump is separately pursuing an appeal through the state court system.
