On August 29, Trump’s legal team sought to move the hush money sentencing, currently scheduled for September 18, out of a New York state court and into a federal court. The move was seen as another delay tactic by the former president to stave off his sentencing until after November’s election against Kamala Harris, or have the case dismissed altogether.

The request was denied the next day by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. The court’s clerk wrote that it had been filed under the “wrong event type” and did not include an “order granting permission to file the pleading” or an order granting “leave” by the state court.