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Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential
nomination in 2024, had argued the case belonged in federal
court, claiming that the indictment related to his 2016
presidency and involved federal election law.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan bought none
of his arguments.
"The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was purely
a personal item of the President -- a cover-up of an
embarrassing event," Hellerstein wrote in a 25-page decision.
"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."
Hellerstein also found Trump does not have immunity and ruled
there was no merit in his argument that state charges were
pre-empted because the indictment alleges he intended to defraud
the voting public during a federal election.
It was unclear whether Trump will appeal. His lawyers did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
In another legal setback for Trump on Wednesday, a separate
federal judge in New York rejected his request for a new trial
after a jury in May found him liable for sexually abusing and
defaming writer E. Jean Carroll and awarded her $5 million.
In the hush-money case, Justice Juan Merchan of New York State
Supreme Court in Manhattan has set a trial for March 2024.
Trump has argued the case is politically motivated.
"But," U.S. District Judge Hellerstein wrote in his ruling,
"there is no reason to believe that the New York judicial system
would not be fair and give Trump equal justice under the law."
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had
a sexual encounter with Trump. He denies it.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chris Reese, Leslie
Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
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