In a recent development, former President Donald Trump’s plea to delay the commencement of his New York hush money trial has been rejected by an appeals court judge. Trump sought to challenge the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan, but Associate Justice Cynthia Kern dismissed the application for an interim stay shortly after hearing the arguments on Tuesday.
Despite the denial of the interim stay, Trump’s petition will still be considered by a full appeals court panel. However, this will not postpone the trial’s start. The jury selection is set to begin on Monday, with motions due on the same day. The panel of judges will decide whether to stay the trial after receiving briefs that day. Theoretically, the trial could be paused after it starts, but this scenario seems unlikely.
The panel will make a decision about the gag order itself after April 29, when submissions are due. The judges will rule based on the written papers, with no oral arguments to be presented.
This is the second unsuccessful attempt by Trump’s lawyers this week to delay the hush money trial, which is now just six days away. Trump faces 34 charges of falsifying business records related to the reimbursement of hush money payments made before the 2016 election. The former president has pleaded not guilty to these charges. This is the first of four potential criminal trials Trump faces, although it could be the only one that occurs before the 2024 election.
During Tuesday’s arguments, Trump’s attorneys urged the appeals court judge to halt the trial’s start so they could challenge Merchan’s gag order in the New York hush money case. They argued that the gag order is causing irreparable harm to the former president by infringing on his First Amendment rights.
Emil Bove, an attorney for Trump, argued that while the former president’s comments may be rude, none of the parties have claimed they rise to the level of incitement. Merchan had imposed the gag order ahead of the trial, prohibiting Trump from publicly commenting on witnesses and the court and district attorney’s staff. The gag order was later extended to include his own family after Trump targeted Merchan’s daughter on social media.
Trump’s attorney argued that the gag order unfairly bars Trump from responding to daily comments on the case’s merits by Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, two expected witnesses. The gag order also prevents Trump from commenting on his publicly filed motion for recusal related to Merchan’s daughter, Bove added.
The district attorney’s office, which requested the gag order, argued that Trump has a history of making threatening remarks in his cases. Steven Wu, Chief of Appeals at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, stated that Trump’s statements have already impacted the case and have a “significant deterrent effect” on potential witnesses. Wu emphasized that this is not a political debate, but a matter of a defendant’s history of making inflammatory, threatening, and defamatory remarks.
Trump’s lawyers also sought to delay the trial this week to argue for a venue change, but this request was also denied by an appeals court judge on Monday.
This story will be updated with additional details and background information as they become available.