Judge Turns Down Trump’s Attempt To Delay Trial

(USNewsBreak.com) – Former President Donald Trump’s legal woes continue. The court scheduled his hush-money trial, where he faces 34 criminal charges for allegedly falsifying business records, on April 15. He has tried unsuccessfully to push back the start date numerous times, and another recent effort failed.

Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump’s request to postpone the trial while the Supreme Court considers whether presidential immunity applies to his case. He ruled that the defense team had “myriad opportunities” to bring forth that issue but waited until March 7 to file, leading him to consider “real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion,” per The Associated Press. In short, Trump waited too long.

Judge rejects Donald Trump's request to delay hush-money trial until Supreme Court rules on immunity https://t.co/tpRXwROLZe

— The Associated Press (@AP) April 3, 2024

Trump’s legal team argued they brought the motion trying to bar specific evidence from the trial, including, notably, statements that he made as president about adult film star Stormy Daniels and attorney Michael Cohen. Daniels alleged that she and Trump had an affair, and Cohen, acting as Trump’s former attorney, confessed to paying Daniels to stay silent about the affair. Merchan said that the former president knew for months that this evidence was on the table and had ample time to dispute it and raise immunity claims but failed to do so.

In his ruling, Merchan also noted that Trump tried using the immunity defense last year when he attempted to have the case moved to federal court. US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected that motion, stating, “Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a President’s official acts.”

The hush-money trial is the first of four criminal trials involving Trump that is set to go before a jury. A last-minute document dump from a federal investigation involving Cohen earned the former president a three-week reprieve, but he’s apparently running out of options to delay the proceedings.

The Supreme Court took up the issue of presidential immunity in February. Justices set a date of April 25 to hear oral arguments between the Trump legal team and Special Counsel Jack Smith. The High Court could delay a decision on the issue until June or July.