Former President Donald Trump.
Theodore Parisienne/NY Daily News via Getty Images
Trump hoped to delay his first criminal trial by arguing that he needs time to fight his gag order.A Manhattan appellate judge denied his request, leaving the April 15 trial date in place.Trump is continuing to appeal his gag, which bars statements about witnesses, jurors, and others.
Donald Trump lost his tenth attempt to delay his hush money trial on Monday — this time over his gag order.
Trump had hoped to delay his first criminal trial long enough to mount a full appeal of the gag.
Associate Justice Cynthia Kern, an appellate judge in Manhattan, denied the delay bid after brief arguments by prosecutors and defense lawyers Monday morning.
Kern’s written decision did not give a reason for the denial, which allows his April 15 trial to proceed.
Her decision also allows Trump to continue appealing his gag order, which his lawyers say is causing “ongoing, irreparable harm” to both the GOP presidential candidate and the voting public.
The gag bars Trump from interfering with the trial by making statements about witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, and the family members of District Attorney Alvin Bragg and state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
Trump’s public statements about the case are merely “intemperate and rude,” defense attorney Emil Bove told the judge in arguments Monday, citing language from last year’s Court of Appeals decision in Trump’s DC election interference case.
Prosecutors “are not alleging that any of President Trump’s statements rise to the level of incitement,” or causing a clear and present danger to others, Bove argued.
The defense lawyer also repeated his argument that the gag harms not only Trump, but the public, which has a right to hear the former president’s unfiltered opinions on key witnesses.
The public especially has the right to hear Trump denounce the Democratic leanings of the trial judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, a political consultant who has worked for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
The top appellate lawyer for Bragg, Stephen Wu, countered on Monday that Trump’s statements “predictably lead to a barrage of attacks” by the former president’s followers.
“There has already been difficulty in finding witnesses in our case to come in and testify, including witnesses who are doing nothing more than testifying about record keeping for the company,” Wu said, an apparent reference to current or former employees at Trump Organization.
“They know what their name in the press may lead to,” Wu told the appellate judge.
Trump has tried repeatedly to push back the date for his first criminal trial, which alleges he falsified 34 business documents to hide a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Manhattan prosecutors say the payment, which silenced Daniels only 11 days before the 2016 election, violated tax and campaign finance laws.
Trump has denied falsifying the documents and has repeatedly insisted he did not have sex with Daniels.
This is a breaking story; please check back for developments.
