A judge from a state appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s last-minute request to postpone his hush money case in New York. This comes as the former president tries to employ various tactics to indefinitely delay his upcoming criminal trial, which is scheduled to start in less than a week.
An appeals court revealed on Monday that the former president has filed a lawsuit against New York Justice Juan Merchan. This lawsuit challenges the gag order imposed by Justice Merchan, which prohibits parties in the case from making any negative remarks about members of the court, attorneys, and their families. The documents pertaining to this lawsuit are currently sealed.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers also argued in court that the case should be relocated from Manhattan, claiming that New Yorkers hold a bias against him and that he would not receive a fair trial. However, on Monday afternoon, an appellate judge denied Mr. Trump’s request to delay the trial while he seeks to have the case moved.
On Tuesday, the appeals court will listen to arguments regarding his efforts to remove the gag order.
In an effort to postpone the legal proceedings, Mr. Trump has made multiple unsuccessful attempts. These attempts come after his previous failures to halt the upcoming trial, which will be the first out of four criminal trials he is anticipated to confront in the near future.
In a significant turn of events, the former president faced his first criminal indictment last year. A grand jury leveled 34 charges against him for falsifying business records. These records were linked to the reimbursements made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. It was Cohen who orchestrated a hush-money scheme aimed at suppressing any damaging revelations concerning Mr. Trump and his personal affairs.
According to prosecutors, the case from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg may depend on Cohen’s testimony that Mr. Trump authorized his business to falsely categorize payments as legal expenses. The alleged purpose of this was to suppress stories that could potentially disrupt then-candidate Trump’s 2016 campaign.
He entered a plea of not guilty.
Mr. Trump’s legal team filed their documents on Monday, which were made public shortly after Mr. Bragg’s office rejected their request to have the judge removed from the case. The district attorney characterized this request as an attempt to undermine the court and continue Mr. Trump’s attacks, stating that it was a baseless effort to question the integrity of the proceedings.
The motion was seen as another desperate attempt by the defendant to further delay the proceeding indefinitely.
In a similar manner, Mr. Trump’s lawyers filed a lawsuit last year to prevent gag orders in a comprehensive civil fraud case from limiting the former president’s ability to criticize court staff. However, the appeals judges denied these requests, and the gag orders have since remained in effect.
Judge Merchan issued an order that prohibits former President Trump from making any statements with the intent to materially interfere with the ongoing case. This order came after Mr. Trump criticized his daughter on his Truth Social platform. The case is scheduled to go to trial on 15 April.
In February, Mr. Bragg initially asked for a limited gag order due to Mr. Trump’s history of making inflammatory remarks towards prosecutors, judges, court staff, and others involved in his numerous legal cases.
The district attorney’s office highlighted Mr. Trump’s menacing social media posts, including a photo in which he is seen brandishing a baseball bat behind Mr. Bragg’s head.
Prosecutors argue that Mr. Trump has a track record of publicly making inflammatory remarks about individuals involved in legal proceedings against him. This includes jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and court staff. They contend that these statements present a clear and immediate danger to the smooth and orderly administration of the ongoing criminal case.
In a recent development, the judge has broadened the reach of the order, extending its coverage to include protection against any attacks directed towards the family members of court staff and attorneys who are involved in the case. The judge’s decision was motivated by the recognition of the significant threat posed by Mr. Trump, which poses a genuine risk to the integrity of the trial.
He added, “Such concerns will undoubtedly disrupt the fair administration of justice and directly undermine the rule of law.”
Judge Merchan has also dismissed Mr. Trump’s efforts to postpone the trial until a ruling is made by the US Supreme Court regarding his defense of “presidential immunity” in a separate criminal case.
Furthermore, there is still no ruling from the judge regarding Mr. Trump’s claim that he will not receive a fair trial due to biased media coverage. Through his platform, Truth Social, Mr. Trump has proposed that the case be relocated to Staten Island, the sole New York borough where he emerged victorious in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
