92-year-old U.S. Attorney Alvin K. Hellerstein, who is famous for his extremely thorough procedures, was assigned to try the landmark case involving .
Hellerstein – who joined the judiciary in 1998 under President Bill Clinton – has served as a senior judge in the Southern District of New York since 2011 and has extensive experience in high-profile cases, including trials related to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as terrorism and national security issues.
According to foreign media reports, last summer the former general and head of the Venezuelan intelligence service, Hugo Carvajal Barrios, appeared before the same judge, who pleaded guilty to charges related to narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
The judge has also taken on Trump cases
Hellerstein has also made headlines in recent years when he rejected requests by Donald Trump to take the Stormy Daniels “bribery to silence” case to federal court. The judge ruled that compensation paid by Trump to Michael Cohen, who brokered the payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, did not constitute an official act related to the performance of his presidential duties. Trump still disputes this decision to this day.
Meanwhile, last spring, Hellerstein issued an order barring the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemy Act (a law of 1798) to deport Venezuelan citizens, strongly criticizing the practice of sending immigrants to foreign prisons “with little chance of a fair trial or return.”
