Simpler Answer

Again, there's just one thing that you need to know abt last night's status report in Jan6 case: Trump is trying to delay arguing that his demand that Mike Pence throw out 81M Joe Biden votes is protected by presidential immunity until after the election.https://t.co/X5704hlGXH

— emptywheel (Chuckwagon) (@emptywheel) August 31, 2024

Trump wants to postpone all trial activity until after the election.  EOD.

NEW: In their joint status report, the Special Counsel proposes filing a brief defending the superseding indictment as compliant with SCOTUS’s immunity decision as soon as Judge Chutkan is ready. Trump’s team, by contrast, wants until December to move to dismiss on immunity. pic.twitter.com/zF7QliPJLG

— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) August 31, 2024

Waiting until January is a bit too far, and Trump's lawyers know it. Waiting until December, however, is just far enough. Remember, Vance is on the campaign trail pleading for sugar daddies:

In #interview with the @FT, VP candidate @JDVance beseeches his former boss, Silicon Valley billionaire @peterthiel, to "get off the sidelines" and help bankroll the #Trump campaign. By @arogDC, on the campaign trail in #Wisconsin: https://t.co/ldGvSALdIH

— Peter Spiegel (@SpiegelPeter) August 29, 2024

Trump has to now be thinking in terms of money. Court hearings cost $$$. Trump needs $$$ just to win. He can't spend everything everywhere all at once. He just wants everything to stop.

NEW: Judge Alvin Hellerstein has rejected Trump's attempt to remove the Manhattan DA's criminal case to federal court. While Trump can refile, he'll have to attach either written consent from the DA or leave from the Court, neither of which he has.

— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) August 30, 2024

UPDATE: Some have suggested that based on the wording, the judge himself had nothing to do with tonight’s docket entry and that it might have been a clerical error. Stay tuned. https://t.co/EBlHZSbBwm

— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) August 30, 2024

As I understand the procedure here (and I don't, except from what I read), Trump needs that consent from one side or the other. Without it, nothing moves in his direction (state sovereignty is not so lightly overridden, especially in a case like this). Which means it's very likely the clerk rejected this motion as improperly filed, saving the judge the time and effort on a purely procedural matter.  Not unlike filing a petition without a certificate of service (legal terms of art here).  The clerk would be within his/her rights to bounce such a thing without bothering the judge.

This response, notably, comes from the campaign:

Cont.: “In a standard procedural move, today, the clerk’s office asked President Trump’s legal team to file in a specific format and we are working with them to make sure it is properly filed on the electronic system.”

— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) August 31, 2024

Granted, the lawyers shouldn't comment at all. But what does the campaign know about the law? "Specific format" is not a legal term of art (and besides, they don't pay the lawyers to screw up such details). I suspect Trump pressured the lawyers to file without the consent they need (and can't get). That makes me suspect this effort is dead (and just another effort to delay until after the election. If Trump takes office, who's going to put him in jail? New York?).

Simpler answer?  "Follow the money."  Oh, and watch the donut, not the hole.