NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump on Monday asked a New York appeals court to overturn its gag order in an eleventh-hour bid to move his husband's wealth criminal trial out of Manhattan and delay it just a week from the scheduled start. .
In an emergency hearing, lawyers for the former president asked a judge from the state's mid-level appeals court to postpone the April 15 hearing while they fight for a change of venue. The court indicated that it would separately consider issuing the gag order at a later date.
Trump attorney Emil Bove argued that the presumptive Republican nominee faces "real potential bias" as a defendant in heavily Democratic Manhattan. Citing a review of defense surveys and media coverage, Bove argued that the next Judicial selection, scheduled to begin Monday, "cannot proceed in a fair manner." Trump has suggested on social media that the trial should be moved to State Island, the only borough of New York City that he held in 2016 and 2020. I had won.Steven Wu, appellate chief for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, said trial judge Juan M. Marchan had already rejected Trump's request to delay the trial as untimely.
Wu said, "The question in this case is not whether a random survey of New Yorkers from any given neighborhood can be impartial, but rather whether a triage court is capable of selecting a jury of 12 impartial jurors." He accused Trump of promoting pre-trial publicity by "talking about the facts of this case, the witnesses, and so on, through countless media appearances." Justice Lizbeth Gonzalez said Monday's hearing did not involve any appeals. , but the defense desired an emergency stay – a court order that would prevent the trial from starting on time. She said she would review the related court filings and issue a decision "at some point."The paperwork related to Trump's appeals was kept under seal and not publicly available.
A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that along with challenging the venue of his trial, Trump is also fighting against a gag order, which Marchen recently expanded to allow Trump to speak about the judge's family. I have been blocked from commenting. The person was unauthorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.Trump promised to appeal Marchen's decision last month after the trial was scheduled to begin on April 15. His lawyers had requested the trial be delayed until at least the final day to give them more time to review late-arriving evidence from a prior Federa investigation into the case.Merchan, who had already pushed the trial back from its original March 25 date because of evidence issues, said there was no need for further delay.
Trump's lawyers filed their appeals in two different courts on Monday. The on was styled as a lawsuit against the merchants, a legal mechanism that allows them to challenge her decisions. In New York, judges are sued over certain judicial decisions under a state statute known as Article 78. A lawsuit may be filed. Trump has used this tactic before, including in an unsuccessful attempt to delay the case at the last minute against the judge in his civil fraud case.,
Trump's hush money trial is the first of four criminal charges against him to go to trial and will be the first criminal trial of a former president.
Trump is accused of falsifying his company's records to conceal the nature of payments to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who helped him uncover negative stories during the 2016 campaign. Cohen's activities included paying porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to suppress her claims of having extramarital sex with Trump years earlier. Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records Was. He has denied having a sexual relationship with Daniels.His lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.
Trump's move Monday is the latest escalation in his battle with Marchen.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee attacked the judge on social media after she last month blocked Trump from making public statements about jurors, witnesses and others involved in the case. Following Trump's complaints, Merchan expanded the gag order to include his family members. Last week, Trump asked the judge to withdraw from the case, citing Merchan's daughter working as the head of a firm. , whose clients include his rival President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats.The former president alleges that the judge is biased against him and has a conflict of interest because of his daughter's work. The judge rejected a similar request last August.
Trump has also made several other attempts to get the trial postponed, mirroring the tactics he has employed in his other criminal cases. "We want a delay," Trump declared before TV cameras outside a February pre-trial hearing in his secret money case. Merchan had last week rejected his request to delay the trial until the U.S. The Supreme Court does not rule on presidential immunity claims that he has raised in his other criminal cases.Trump also filed a eve-teasing lawsuit against the judge in his New York civil fraud case, accusing the jurist of repeatedly abusing his authority. Among other issues, Trump's lawyers in that case complained that Judge Arthur Engoron rejected their request to delay the trial. His lawsuit was filed about three weeks before the trial was to begin. A state appeals court rejected Trump's claims, and the trial began on October 2.
In an emergency hearing, lawyers for the former president asked a judge from the state's mid-level appeals court to postpone the April 15 hearing while they fight for a change of venue. The court indicated that it would separately consider issuing the gag order at a later date.
Trump attorney Emil Bove argued that the presumptive Republican nominee faces "real potential bias" as a defendant in heavily Democratic Manhattan. Citing a review of defense surveys and media coverage, Bove argued that the next Judicial selection, scheduled to begin Monday, "cannot proceed in a fair manner." Trump has suggested on social media that the trial should be moved to State Island, the only borough of New York City that he held in 2016 and 2020. I had won.Steven Wu, appellate chief for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, said trial judge Juan M. Marchan had already rejected Trump's request to delay the trial as untimely.
Wu said, "The question in this case is not whether a random survey of New Yorkers from any given neighborhood can be impartial, but rather whether a triage court is capable of selecting a jury of 12 impartial jurors." He accused Trump of promoting pre-trial publicity by "talking about the facts of this case, the witnesses, and so on, through countless media appearances." Justice Lizbeth Gonzalez said Monday's hearing did not involve any appeals. , but the defense desired an emergency stay – a court order that would prevent the trial from starting on time. She said she would review the related court filings and issue a decision "at some point."The paperwork related to Trump's appeals was kept under seal and not publicly available.
A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that along with challenging the venue of his trial, Trump is also fighting against a gag order, which Marchen recently expanded to allow Trump to speak about the judge's family. I have been blocked from commenting. The person was unauthorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.Trump promised to appeal Marchen's decision last month after the trial was scheduled to begin on April 15. His lawyers had requested the trial be delayed until at least the final day to give them more time to review late-arriving evidence from a prior Federa investigation into the case.Merchan, who had already pushed the trial back from its original March 25 date because of evidence issues, said there was no need for further delay.
Trump's lawyers filed their appeals in two different courts on Monday. The on was styled as a lawsuit against the merchants, a legal mechanism that allows them to challenge her decisions. In New York, judges are sued over certain judicial decisions under a state statute known as Article 78. A lawsuit may be filed. Trump has used this tactic before, including in an unsuccessful attempt to delay the case at the last minute against the judge in his civil fraud case.,
Trump's hush money trial is the first of four criminal charges against him to go to trial and will be the first criminal trial of a former president.
Trump is accused of falsifying his company's records to conceal the nature of payments to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who helped him uncover negative stories during the 2016 campaign. Cohen's activities included paying porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to suppress her claims of having extramarital sex with Trump years earlier. Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records Was. He has denied having a sexual relationship with Daniels.His lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.
Trump's move Monday is the latest escalation in his battle with Marchen.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee attacked the judge on social media after she last month blocked Trump from making public statements about jurors, witnesses and others involved in the case. Following Trump's complaints, Merchan expanded the gag order to include his family members. Last week, Trump asked the judge to withdraw from the case, citing Merchan's daughter working as the head of a firm. , whose clients include his rival President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats.The former president alleges that the judge is biased against him and has a conflict of interest because of his daughter's work. The judge rejected a similar request last August.
Trump has also made several other attempts to get the trial postponed, mirroring the tactics he has employed in his other criminal cases. "We want a delay," Trump declared before TV cameras outside a February pre-trial hearing in his secret money case. Merchan had last week rejected his request to delay the trial until the U.S. The Supreme Court does not rule on presidential immunity claims that he has raised in his other criminal cases.Trump also filed a eve-teasing lawsuit against the judge in his New York civil fraud case, accusing the jurist of repeatedly abusing his authority. Among other issues, Trump's lawyers in that case complained that Judge Arthur Engoron rejected their request to delay the trial. His lawsuit was filed about three weeks before the trial was to begin. A state appeals court rejected Trump's claims, and the trial began on October 2.
