In a last-minute move to stall his upcoming trial in New York City, former President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the Manhattan hush money case against him.
This marks another attempt by Trump to delay what would be his first criminal trial ever.
Trump’s latest legal maneuver, filed in a New York appellate court, revolves around a gag order imposed by Merchan last month. The gag order prohibits Trump from attacking witnesses and prosecutors involved in the case.
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Recently, it was expanded to cover Merchan’s family after Trump targeted the judge’s daughter on social media due to her connection with a digital marketing firm associated with Democratic politicians.
Trump’s legal team is also pushing to relocate the trial out of Manhattan, arguing bias against him among New Yorkers, which they claim would deny him a fair trial. However, an appellate judge rejected Trump’s request to delay the trial while seeking a change of venue.
Additionally, Trump faces three more criminal trials in the near future, starting with the indictment last year on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments to his former lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen arranged a hush money scheme to suppress potentially damaging stories about Trump and his affairs during the 2016 campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty to these charges.
Trump’s legal filings come on the heels of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office dismissing demands to remove Judge Merchan from the case, labeling it as an attempt to disrupt the proceedings and undermine their integrity.
Last year, Trump’s legal team also sued a judge in a civil fraud case to block gag orders, which were ultimately upheld by appeals courts.
Merchan’s gag order, issued after Trump’s online attacks against his daughter, prohibits Trump from making statements intended to disrupt the case. The order, initially requested by the district attorney’s office citing Trump’s history of inflammatory remarks, was expanded to protect the families of court staff and attorneys involved.
Despite Trump’s attempts to delay proceedings based on claims of presidential immunity and biased media coverage, Merchan has yet to rule on these issues. Trump has suggested moving the trial to Staten Island, the only New York borough he won in the 2016 and 2020 elections, but no decision has been made on this matter either.
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