Legal AF by MeidasTouch - WHOA! Federal Judge ISSUES RAPID ORDER to Trump Motion

Episode Date: September 3, 2024

In record time and only hours after Trump filed his new motion to try to stop his criminal court felony sentencing on 9/18, a federal judge has DENIED Trump’s motion, while reminding him that “hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a President’s official acts”. Michael Popok updates and explains what Trump will do next with this exit ramp to federal court permanently closed to him. Go to https://calm.com/LEGALAF for 40% off unlimited access to Calm’s entire library. Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Join the Legal AF Patreon: https://Patreon.com/LegalAF Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/lights-on-with-jessica-denson On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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trial of Donald Trump being convicted on 34 felony counts, trying to drag it across the street to Judge Hellerstein and the federal court was doomed to failure. I just didn't know how quick that doom was coming. It came in the same day. As one of our producers said, Jeff Bezos would be proud of this same day delivery by Judge Hellerstein. We already have the order and it is exactly what I said was going to happen. He denied it. He found there was no good cause for him as a federal judge to interfere with a state court proceeding where there's already been a conviction and we're just before sentencing.

That's exactly what Donald Trump and his lawyers wanted. They wanted to interfere with Judge Mershon who's about to sentence Donald Trump on the 18th of September, and they went and cried for help with Judge Hellerstein, except they screwed it up. They didn't follow the rules. They didn't follow the law. When you file a notice of removal after there's been an arraignment, after there's been a trial, in this case, after there's been a conviction, you have to show good cause. You also have to overcome another doctrine that all appellate courts know, that all appellate judges know, and which this judge relied on,

which is known as the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. See, this is why you come to Legal AF, because you learn about the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. What it says is a federal judge is divested of jurisdiction and can't disturb certain state court rulings because they can't sit as a supra state court. They're not a state court. And they can't, they have original jurisdiction and they can't interfere with things that have already happened at the state court level,

especially convictions and things about to be sentenced under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine named after two separate cases at the United States Supreme Court that we in the law refer to as that doctrine. And let me read to you from the ruling. In a nutshell, Judge Hellerstein said, I've seen this motion before, this Notice of Removal before. I have the power as a federal judge under this particular statute, 28 USC 1455 B4. If you're playing at home, I can make a summary decision on the papers without asking for the Manhattan DA's opinion. I said in my earlier hot take today that he was probably not going to ask for the DA's opinion. He could rule right now on the papers. That's

exactly what he's done. He doesn't need an evidentiary hearing. He doesn't need to hear briefing. He doesn't need to hear from the other side. He doesn't need to hear a briefing. He doesn't need to hear from the other side He doesn't need to hear from judge mershon He makes the ruling on his own as the power that's given to him under those rules as a sitting federal judge So no evidentiary hearing no briefing. I'm ready to rule on a summary basis He says that donald trump has two major grounds And i'm going to i'm going to address one of them He says one of the major grounds is he doesn't like certain things that Judge Mershon did, said, or who he is. He doesn't like the fact that Judge Mershon has a daughter who works for democratic causes. He doesn't like certain rulings by

Judge Mershon. He doesn't like how certain evidence was handled by Judge Mershon. But under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, as reminded by Judge Hellerstein, Judge Hellerstein can't evaluate any of that. It would be improper for a federal court to evaluate any of those grounds to become an appellate court that he has original jurisdiction only, and only if he hears or sees new evidence that would support the notice of removal. So he said, let's take that off the board right away.

I'm not addressing anything that you're complaining about at the state trial court level or with your judge. It doesn't mean that Donald Trump doesn't have a way for it to obtain relief. He can get relief by going to his appellate court in state court. That's what you do. If you don't like what a state court judge does in a federal, a state court judge does in a criminal case, you take it to his bosses at the state appellate level. Two levels of appeal in New York, first appellate division, first department of the appellate division, and then the court of appeals.

But you don't go to a federal judge, and that's what Judge Hellerstein has just said. And again, he's looking, he's searching for the good cause that's required, because you have to show good cause, because this was an untimely filed notice of removal. It came after the conviction, not even before the arraignment or the trial in this case. So the judge said, Judge Hellerstein said, there's only one ground

that I'm going to address and that's immunity. You argue that because of the decision, Trump versus the US on July 1st by the United States Supreme Court, immunity means that the Stormy Daniels hush money case should not have been tried against you. And the judge says, I've already evaluated that. You came to me on this very same grounds last summer. I held an evidentiary hearing. I had the Manhattan DA put on evidence.

You put on evidence. I heard from your general counsel and I concluded that the private conduct that's complained of in the indictment that you've now been convicted of, related to Stormy Daniels, the Sex Act, the cover-up, the bribery, the payments is outside the color of your federal office, even if you were a federal officer at the time that they were committed. And so you're outside of that type of immunity and nothing about what happened during the trial or the conviction or the new ruling, the new decision in order by the United States Supreme Court in July changes my analysis. In fact, it supports my analysis and therefore the remand, the notice of removal for the second time is denied. It's denied. Meaning what? Meaning he's

not going to be able, Donald Trump, to use Judge Hellerstein to try to stop the sentencing on the 18th of September. His only hope now, his only hope, OB1 Kenobi, is to go to the appellate court in New York with a proper appeal and ask for emergency stay, and he hasn't done that yet. Have you had difficulty focusing lately? Things like parenting pressures, work challenges, school commitments, or just personal drama can wreck havoc on your ability to stay focused and productive. If this sounds like you, I know something that could make a real difference. Calm.

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For listeners of our show, Calm is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Calm Premium subscription at calm.com slash legal AF. Go to c-a-l-m dot com slash legal AF for 40% off unlimited access to com's entire library. That's com.com slash legal AF. Let me read to you from the actual order and opinion denying the motion for leave to file the removal papers by Judge Elrstein, which we just got in our hot little hands, just came out literally the afternoon of when the motion was

filed by Trump. I said in earlier hot takes, he got it wrong. He got the procedure wrong. You got to ask pretty please of the judge, the district court judge, if you're going to file a notice of removal this late in the game and they never did it. So they converted their papers over the weekend to a three page filing, asking the judge pretty please and the judge bam has already responded. Let's read did it. So they converted their papers over the weekend to a three page filing asking the judge pretty please and the judge bam has already responded. Let's read from it.

Former President Donald Trump again seeks removal of the criminal case against him. Upon removal as the district judge to whom this case was assigned, that's Judge Hellerstein, my task pursuant to 28 USC 1455B4 is to examine the notice promptly and if it clearly appears on the face of the notice in any exhibits thereto that removal should not be permitted, I may make an order of summary remand back to the trial judge in the state court, which is what he's done.

The second notice may argue grounds not existing at the time of the original notice back in May and June or show good cause. And the judge says you didn't show either. Defendant seeks leave from this court to file a second notice of removal. As to good cause, he advances two grounds. First, he asserts that the New York courts were biased against him, resulting in an improper trial. He writes that Judge Mershon had a conflict of interest, as evidenced by his daughter's statements concerning her father's views on politicians' use of Twitter, by Judge Mershon's daughter's involvement in Kamala Harris's vice presidential campaign, and by Judge Mershon's prior financial contribution to Democratic politicians. He also states that Judge Murchon failed to conduct the proper pretrial review of the

presidential immunity in light of the Supreme Court decisions. This court does not have jurisdiction to hear Mr. Trump's arguments concerning the propriety of the New York trial. And he cites to Rooker versus Fidelity Trust from 1923. This is the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. In footnote two, the judge says, Mr. Trump also implicitly requests that this court enjoin, stop, stay, the state sentencing set for September 18th, 2024 for the same reason set out in this paragraph under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. This request is improper and outside this district court's jurisdiction. It would be highly improper, the court continues on page two,

for this court to evaluate the issues of bias and fairness or errors in the state trial. Those are issues for the state appellate courts, as I said. Accordingly, only the second argument on immunity deserves attention. He then goes on, on page three, to talk about immunity, but reminds Trump at the bottom of page three that he held in July 19th of 2023, the same Judge Hellerstein, that the hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president's official acts. It does not reflect in any way the color of the president's official duties. My holding following an evidentiary hearing where the people showed conclusively that Mr. Trump reimbursed Michael Cohen for advancing the hush money payments including two checks signed in the White

House by Mr. Trump. I held that Mr. Trump had not satisfied the burden of proof required to show the basis of removal. My holding of a hush money reimbursement remains true regardless of who has the burden, whether the people or Mr. Trump. And here's the final, here's the day new mom. Nothing in the Supreme Court's opinion affects my previous conclusion that the hush money payments were private, unofficial acts outside the bounds of executive authority. Therefore, he is not allowing the notice of removal,

good cause not being shown. He terminates the notice of removal. The clerk shall terminate the docket number 48, signed Alvin K. Hellerstein. What happens next? Donald Trump has run out of luck in federal court. He was trying to jump the tracks, get to Judge Hellerstein,

hopefully take an appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals Federal and then to the United States Supreme Court. He was trying to jump the tracks, get to Judge Hellerstein, hopefully take an appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, federal, and then to the United States Supreme Court. That has now been blocked. That exit ramp has now been blocked for him. He's going to have to go back around. He's going to have to try and appeal once he gets Judge Murchon's immunity decision on the 16th. He hasn't even gotten that yet from Judge Murchon. If he doesn't like the results, he'll need to file an emergency application on the night of the 16th, the morning of the 17th, he hasn't even gotten that yet, from Judge Held, from Judge Bershaw. If he doesn't like the results, he'll need to file an emergency application on the night of the 16th, the morning of the 17th with the Appellate Division First Department. They can move fast also. And if he gets an emergency injunction, then the sentencing won't happen on the 18th. If he doesn't, it will happen on the 18th. Judge Bershaw can always impose the sentence, the sentence which will likely be jail time, but suspend the sentence

to give Donald Trump time to appeal. It's always been an out. But this is now, with that exit ramp locked for Donald Trump, this is the path in front of Donald Trump. As he squeals and he screams a bloody murder on the way into the debate, now he's all fired up. You thought the debate. Now he's all fired up. This will make, you thought the debate was gonna be fun before. Wait till you see the debate now,

now that he's lost this on September the 10th. You think Donald Trump was distracted before, wasn't prepping for the debate before? Watch him now. He'll be unhinged. We'll be selling the popcorn here on the Midas Dutch Network and on Legal AF. We'll follow it all, all the steps we just talked about. We do it in one place. Wait for it. Legal AF. See it? Right there. We sit at

the intersection of law and politics so you don't have to. Find out what 40 million people a month already know that we're the home for the intersection of law and politics, one place, MidasTouch and Legal AF. Wednesdays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m., Wednesdays I do it with Karen Friedman, Nick Nifilo, Saturdays with Ben Micelles, and then on hot takes, God, it could be every half an hour at the rate we're going here on the Midas Touch Network. So until my next hot take, until my next Legal AF, this is Michael Pobok reporting. Heary, heary, Legal AF Law Breakdown is now in session. Go beyond the headlines and get a deep dive into the important legal concepts you need to know

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