纽约一名联邦法官拒绝了前总统唐纳德·特朗普提出的移动他的秘密资金刑事案件进入联邦法庭。
法官阿尔文·赫勒斯坦(Alvin Hellerstein)在周三的裁决中写道:“特朗普未能证明起诉书指控的行为是为了或与总统或为总统在总统官方行为的色彩下实施的任何行为有关。”。
特朗普已经不服罪一份34项罪名的起诉书指控他伪造商业记录封口费付款是在2016年总统大选前几天送给成人电影女演员斯托米·丹尼尔斯的。
他为这个案子进行了辩论属于联邦法院因为特朗普偿还了他当时的律师迈克尔·科恩，后者在特朗普入主白宫期间向丹尼尔斯支付了款项。
曼哈顿地区检察官阿尔文·布拉格(Alvin Bragg)辩称，封口费与特朗普的总统职责无关。
“我们对联邦法院的决定非常满意，并期待在纽约州最高法院继续诉讼，”布拉格的一位发言人在周三的裁决后表示。
特朗普曾辩称，安排封口费是一种官方行为，他“将个人事务与公共职责分开的决定”是“植根于宪法关切”。
法官完全否定了这一理论。
“证据压倒性地表明，这件事纯粹是总统个人的事情——掩盖一个令人尴尬的事件。封口费付给一个成人电影明星的报酬与总统的官方行为无关。它没有以任何方式反映总统公务的色彩，”法官赫勒斯坦写道。
赫勒斯坦还支持曼哈顿地区检察官的案件理论，该理论将伪造商业记录上升为重罪，因为检察官说，特朗普涉嫌伪造记录以推进另一项犯罪。
“即使特朗普没有犯下伪造以外的任何罪行，只要他有意这样做或隐瞒这样的罪行，他也可以被判重罪，”赫勒斯坦说。
Judge rejects Trump's request to move Stormy Daniels hush-money case into federal court
A federal judge in New York has rejected former President Donald Trump's request to move his hush-money criminal case into federal court.
"Trump has failed to show that the conduct charged by the Indictment is for or relating to any act performed by or for the President under color of the official acts of a President," Judge Alvin Hellerstein wrote in his ruling Wednesday.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.
He had argued the case belonged in federal court because Trump reimbursed his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, who made the payment to Daniels, while Trump was in the White House.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had argued that the hush payment had nothing to do with Trump's presidential duties.
"We are very pleased with the federal court's decision and look forward to proceeding in New York State Supreme Court," said a spokesperson for Bragg following Wednesday's ruling.
Trump had argued that arranging the hush payment was an official act, and that his "decision to separate his personal business from his public duties" was "rooted in constitutional concerns."
The judge wholly rejected the theory.
"The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was a purely a personal item of the President -- a cover-up of an embarrassing event. 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," Judge Hellerstein wrote.
Hellerstein also endorsed the Manhattan district attorney's theory of the case that elevated the falsification of business records to felonies because, prosecutors said, Trump allegedly falsified the records in furtherance of another crime.
"Trump can be convicted of a felony even if he did not commit any crime beyond the falsification, so long as he intended to do so or to conceal such a crime," Hellerstein said.
