A New York appeals court judge has denied a request by former President Donald Trump to postpone his upcoming criminal trial over hush-money payments.
The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on April 15th. Trump’s legal team had sought an emergency hearing to argue for the trial’s delay, hoping to relocate the proceedings from Manhattan, where they claim political bias due to its Democratic-leaning populace.
As reported by the New York Times, Trump’s legal manoeuvres continued on Monday with preparations to sue the presiding judge in the hush-money case. Through a lawsuit, this appeal aims to challenge both the trial’s timing and a gag order imposed by the judge.
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“Mr Trump’s unorthodox move – essentially an appeal in the form of a lawsuit – is unlikely to succeed, particularly so close to trial,” the court documents read.
Trump faces first criminal trial amidst 34 hush-money charges
The former president faces 34 criminal charges related to payments made to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress who alleged an affair with him. Despite pleading not guilty and accusing Judge Juan Merchan and his family of political bias, Trump’s trial is set to proceed in Manhattan next Monday, and it will be the first criminal trial involving a former US president.
Trump’s strategy includes an anticipated request to an appeals court to move the trial from Manhattan, a borough he once called home before moving to Florida.
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Commenting on the situation, Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney and current law professor, remarked, “Trump’s latest desperate move of personally suing Merchan in the appellate division is reminiscent of his initial gambit in Palm Beach [Florida], where judge [Aileen] Cannon permitted him to take the whole action off track [in his classified information case].”
“But won’t happen here. Imagine if a criminal defendant could do this …” he further added.
Multiple criminal charges await for Trump
The New York Times explained that Trump’s suit would be an Article 78 action, a legal avenue for challenging decisions made by state agencies and judges under New York law.
Trump is contending with 54 other criminal charges—40 in Florida related to his retention of classified information post-presidency, and 14 connected to his efforts to contest the 2020 election results, with 10 in Georgia and four in Washington DC.
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Trump denies all allegations, framing them as political persecution, and is reportedly seeking to delay all legal proceedings against him until after the presidential election in November.
