Judge appears skeptical of Trump's latest bid to nix his hush money conviction

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge appeared poised to again reject President Donald Trump’s bid to erase his hush money conviction, slamming his lawyers Wednesday for legal maneuvers he said amounted to taking “two bites at the apple.”

Directed by an appeals court to take a fresh look at the matter, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein was at turns inquisitive and incredulous during nearly three hours of arguments as Trump seeks to move his case from the state court where it was tried to federal court, where he can ask to have it thrown out on presidential immunity grounds.

Hellerstein sparred with Trump lawyer Jeffrey Wall throughout the proceeding in Manhattan federal court and suggested the whole exercise was moot because the president’s legal team had waited too long after the historic May 2024 verdict to seek federal court relief. He said he would rule at a later date.

The judge acknowledged that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling about a month after the verdict that presidents and former presidents cannot be prosecuted for official acts had raised novel legal questions that had not previously been considered in the courts.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/judge-set-hear-arguments-court-050336220.html