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Donald Trump’s latest appeal for a delay in his criminal hush money trial in New York has been denied, two weeks after proceedings began.
The former president had sought a delay for several reasons, including that presiding judge Juan Merchan had refused to recuse himself from the case, and that he had not been permitted to invoke a presidential immunity defense.
Mr Trump had also argued that judge Merchan has restricted his ability “to file motions in said proceedings and include rulings and submissions in the public record.”
The appeal was denied by justices of the New York appeals court on Tuesday.
It comes after judge Merchan continues to clash with Mr Trump in the Manhattan courtroom, ordering the former president to pay a fine of $9,000 earlier on Tuesday for violating a previous gag order.
He found the former president in contempt of court on nine of the first ten violations of the gag order, which had prohibited Mr Trump from attacking key witnesses in the trial on his social media platform Truth Social, fining him $1,000 for each.
Further violations may result in “an incarceratory punishment”, he warned.
The posts in question disappeared during Tuesday’s lunch break, less than an hour before the 2.15pm deadline set by judge Merchan.
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