{"id":29503,"date":"2026-01-08T21:57:04","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T21:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=29503"},"modified":"2026-01-08T21:57:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T21:57:04","slug":"judge-overseeing-maduro-case-has-clashed-before-with-trump-admin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=29503","title":{"rendered":"Judge Overseeing Maduro Case Has Clashed Before With Trump Admin"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The judge who was assigned to depose Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro\u2019s case in the Southern District of New York has a history of clashing with President Donald Trump, according to reports this week. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who was appointed decades ago by then-President Bill Clinton, also has a history of dealing with the now-former dictator.<\/p>\n

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The Venezuelan leader and his wife were seized early Saturday by U.S. Special Forces in Caracas and flown to New York, where they face narcoterrorism and drug-trafficking charges. The operation, which disabled parts of Venezuela\u2019s air defenses, came under immediate international fire. Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Spain called it a \u201cdangerous precedent for peace,\u201d while Argentina\u2019s Javier Milei praised the fall of a dictatorship.<\/p>\n

Hellerstein has overseen matters involving Maduro since 2014, years before a superseding indictment in 2020 named the former Venezuelan leader. On Monday, Maduro appeared in Hellerstein\u2019s courtroom for the first time as the lead defendant, a development that highlights the judge\u2019s history of presiding over high-profile cases.<\/p>\n

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Hellerstein previously clashed with Donald Trump during the high-profile \u201chush money\u201d case, repeatedly rejecting Trump\u2019s efforts to move his New York state criminal proceedings into federal court.<\/p>\n

The case focused on payments involving Trump\u2019s former attorney, Michael Cohen, who paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, shortly before the 2016 presidential election. A state jury later convicted Trump, while Hellerstein\u2019s rulings ensured the proceedings remained in state court.<\/p>\n

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\u201cReimbursing Cohen for advancing hush money to Stephanie Clifford cannot be considered the performance of a constitutional duty,\u201d he declared at the time.<\/p>\n

The case took a new turn after a 2024 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States required Hellerstein to reconsider his position on presidential immunity in Donald Trump\u2019s case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit also directed the court to reexamine the underlying arguments.<\/p>\n

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That led Hellerstein to respond: \u201cFalsifying business records to hide such reimbursement, and to transform the reimbursement into a business expense for Trump and income to Cohen, likewise does not relate to a presidential duty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Closer to Maduro\u2019s orbit, Hellerstein last year presided over a deportation case involving two Venezuelan nationals. He issued a temporary restraining order barring removals without due process for detainees in his district, calling into question the government\u2019s use of the Alien Enemies Act against individuals accused of gang affiliation.<\/p>\n

Maduro, meanwhile,\u00a0appeared visibly surprised\u00a0Monday after learning of the constitutional rights afforded to criminal defendants in the American legal system during his first court appearance.<\/p>\n

During the hearing, Maduro indicated he was previously unaware that he was entitled to legal counsel, had the right to remain silent, could seek bail, and that statements made outside the presence of an attorney could be excluded from evidence.<\/p>\n