In a remarkable turn of events, former President Donald Trump's legal efforts to delay his impending hush money criminal trial have been thwarted once again.
According to Fox News, this marks the third time in a week that Trump's lawyers have unsuccessfully sought to postpone the trial, which is set to commence on Monday. The latest setback for the former president came on Wednesday when the court denied his request for a delay.
Trump's legal team cited various reasons for seeking a delay, including calls for Judge Juan M. Merchan's recusal, criticism of restrictive pre-motion letter filing requirements, and the desire to argue presidential immunity as a defense. However, the district attorney's office and court administration strongly opposed the delay, asserting that Trump's arguments lacked merit.
Undeterred by the court's decision, Trump's lawyers took their case to the state's mid-level appeals court on Wednesday to prevent jury selection from starting as scheduled. The documents related to this latest appeal were sealed, making them unavailable for public scrutiny.
Interestingly, the docket listing framed Wednesday's action as an attempt to sue Judge Merchan under a state law known as Article 78. An emergency hearing by an appeals court judge was expected to take place on Wednesday afternoon to address this matter.
This is not the first time Trump's legal team has tried to delay the trial. Earlier bids, including an attempt to move the trial out of Manhattan and a fight against a gag order, were rejected by appeals court judges.
Trump has openly accused Judge Merchan of bias and a conflict of interest, demanding his recusal from the case. However, Judge Merchan has yet to rule on Trump's pending recusal request or another delay request, citing prejudicial media coverage.
Judge Merchan decided not to postpone Trump's trial, pending the Supreme Court's decision on a different case about presidential immunity. The Supreme Court plans to discuss matters of presidential immunity on April 25.
The hush money trial, set to begin on Monday, will mark the first criminal trial of a former president in U.S. history.
Trump stands accused of falsifying company records to conceal payments made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for suppressing negative stories during the 2016 campaign, including a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
This trial is just one of the former president's many legal challenges. Trump currently faces four criminal indictments, with the hush money trial being the first slated to go to trial.
As the hush money trial draws near, former President Donald Trump's legal team continues to exhaust all avenues to delay the proceedings. Despite multiple rejections from the court, they remain persistent in their efforts.
The accusations of bias against Judge Merchan and the sealed appeal to the state's mid-level appeals court add further intrigue to this historic case. With the trial set to begin on Monday, all eyes will be on the courtroom as the nation witnesses the first criminal trial of a former president. The outcome of this trial could have far-reaching implications for Trump's political future and the state of American politics as a whole.
