Judge Rejects Trump’s Trial Delay Bid Over Presidential Immunity

Judge Juan Merchan has decisively rejected former President Donald Trump’s plea to delay his criminal trial over hush money payments, dismissing Trump’s argument of presidential immunity as untimely. The trial, centered on accusations of falsifying business records related to payments to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, is now set to proceed as planned on April 15.

Trump’s legal team had sought to postpone the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on the issue of presidential immunity, a claim Trump has asserted in all of his criminal trials. However, Judge Merchan deemed the motion belated, highlighting that Trump had numerous opportunities to raise the issue before the filing on March 7, 2024.

The hush money case revolves around payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2017, with prosecutors alleging that Trump misrepresented these payments as legal fees. Instead, the payments were allegedly reimbursement for hush money Daniels received to remain silent about an alleged affair with Trump in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

Trump’s assertion of presidential immunity aims to prevent certain evidence, including statements he made in 2018, from being used in the trial. These statements purportedly reveal his involvement in a “pressure campaign” on Cohen regarding the hush money payments. Trump’s legal team contends that actions taken during his presidency should be shielded from future prosecution.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the issue of presidential immunity on April 25, with a decision expected before the end of its term in late June. Trump is also facing a gag order from Judge Merchan, who expanded the order to prohibit Trump from publicly commenting on the court or its family members after Trump’s repeated criticisms on the social media platform Truth Social.