An appellate judge denied former President Donald Trump’s request to postpone his criminal hush money trial in New York, scheduled to begin next week, for the third day in a row.
The Appellate Division First Department’s Justice Ellen Gesmer took 30 minutes to issue a one-sentence order denying the stay motion.
Later this month, a panel of appellate judges will hear Trump’s written grounds for recusing Judge Juan Merchan from the case and disputing several of Merchan’s decisions.
Defense attorney Emil Bove said Wednesday that Trump needed more time to dispute Judge Merchan’s decision limiting the defense from objecting to evidence based on presidential immunity, as well as the judge’s reluctance to recuse himself from the case.
“Justice Merchan has a mandatory obligation to recuse himself,” Bove stated, claiming that Merchan’s daughter’s work for a Democratic political consulting firm presented an “unacceptable appearance of impropriety.”
“This can only be done once, and it must be done right because of the impact it will have on this election,” Bove told Justice Gesmer in a written statement.
Prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney’s office termed the defense position “completely meritless,” claiming that a relative’s independent political actions are no grounds to question Merchan’s reliability.
“There is no conflict warranting the judge’s recusal,” said Steven Wu, an attorney with the DA’s office.
However, the defense argued that Merchan’s daughter created a financial conflict of interest by receiving $18 million in business from Democratic politicians.
Merchan’s counsel, Lisa Evans of the Office of Court Administration, disagreed.
“There is absolutely no evidence to show that Judge Merchan will stand to benefit from the outcome of this trial,” Evans went on to say.
Wu argued that delaying the April 15 trial would be “incredibly disruptive,” citing security concerns and the case’s complexity.
“It is a massive machine, and this is not going to be a simple trial,” Wu told reporters.
Trump had previously attempted and failed to postpone the trial twice this week, challenging a gag order and attempting to relocate the case out of Manhattan.
Merchan declined to withdraw himself from the case in August, stating that “this Court has examined its conscience and is certain in its ability to be fair and impartial.”
Earlier this month, Merchan determined that Trump’s hush money lawsuit does not qualify for presidential immunity due to the late invocation of the defense.
“This Court finds that the defendant had myriad opportunities to raise the claim of presidential immunity well before March 7, 2024,” he said.
Last April, the former president pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made by his then-attorney Michael Cohen to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 election. Trump has denied every transgression.
The trial’s jury selection will start in New York City this Monday.
