Alvin Bragg torpedoes Donald Trump’s attempt to move hush money case to federal court: report

30 May 2023

Prosecutors in Manhattan on Tuesday smacked down former President Donald Trump's attempts to relocate the Stormy Daniels hush money trial from New York to federal court.

The case is part of the thirty-four-count indictment filed against Trump by Bragg in April.

"Defendant's alleged criminal conduct here is similarly divorced from any official duty or responsibility: the pre-election scheme and $130,000 payment to an adult film actress predated defendant's inauguration, and his post-inauguration actions all derived from this pre-inauguration conduct, rather than any presidential duty, because defendant sought to conceal facts and to reimburse payments that preceded his time in office," District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office wrote in filings obtained by The Hill.

Although the outlet noted that "under federal law, federal officers can move criminal prosecutions against them from state to federal court when the allegations relate to an official act and they raise a 'colorable federal defense,'" Bragg's team explained that "under these circumstances, defendant has failed to establish that the criminal conduct alleged here related to any acts performed under color of the Office of the President."

Bragg also refuted Trump World's insistence that the Florida resident is a target of political persecution.

"This claim fails because 'protective jurisdiction' does not exist as a recognized basis for federal court jurisdiction," Bragg said, "and because defendant could not satisfy the predicates for invoking that theoretical basis for federal court jurisdiction even if it did exist."

The Hill's report continues here.

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