A New York appeals court judge swiftly rejected Donald Trump’s bid to delay his upcoming criminal hush money trial while seeking to move the case to another court. Trump’s request was denied the same day it was filed, less than two hours after a hearing where his attorneys argued that he cannot get a fair trial in New York. The trial is set to begin next week, and Trump has made at least eight other attempts to postpone it. His lawyers asked the court to change the trial venue and pause a gag order barring Trump from speaking about witnesses or the judge’s family.
During a hearing on Monday, Trump’s defense attorney argued that the overwhelming publicity surrounding the case in New York would prevent Trump from receiving a fair and impartial jury. The attorney cited survey results showing that a majority of people in New York County believe Trump is guilty. However, the prosecutor countered that Manhattan jurors are capable of acting as fair and impartial jurors despite the media coverage, and that Trump’s own actions have contributed to the publicity surrounding the case. The appeal was filed in an attempt to challenge the court’s actions before the trial has even begun.
The Manhattan District Attorney criticized Trump’s latest bid to recuse the judge overseeing the case as a bad-faith effort to delay the trial. Trump’s lawyers argued that the judge’s daughter works for a consulting firm that could benefit from the case and stands to profit from promoting an anti-Trump message. However, the prosecutor dismissed these arguments as mere speculation and insufficient grounds for the judge’s recusal. The judge recently expanded a gag order on Trump to prohibit him from making statements about the judge’s family members that could interfere with the case.
The hush money case is the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to head to trial. His lawyers have repeatedly attempted to dismiss or delay all of these cases while he runs to unseat President Joe Biden. Trump’s continued attacks on the judge’s daughter and attempts to recuse the judge have been seen as efforts to undermine the integrity of the legal proceedings. The judge has emphasized that Trump’s actions could be viewed as a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself. Despite Trump’s efforts, the judge has upheld the gag order and rejected previous recusal requests, indicating that the trial will proceed as scheduled.
