Judge denies Trump’s latest attempt to delay hush money case

By Kara Scannell, Nicki Brown and Jeremy Herb, CNN

New York (CNN) — For the third time in three days, a New York appellate judge has denied an attempt by former President Donald Trump to delay his hush money trial.

Trump on Wednesday asked a New York appeals court for emergency relief to stop the criminal trial scheduled to begin Monday from going ahead so he could appeal a lower court’s ruling on presidential immunity and have the judge recused from the case.

It took Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer just minutes after hearing arguments to reject the interim motion to stay the trial.

Wednesday’s court petition marked the latest in what has been a blitz of actions by Trump at the appeals court this week to try to stop the trial before its scheduled start. The former president still could appeal the denied motions to New York state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. That court, however, does not have to accept the motion.

Trump attorney Emil Bove said at Wednesday’s hearing that Trump was seeking a stay due to three issue that go to the “core, fundamental fairness” of the trial: recusal, restriction on filing defense motions, and presidential immunity.

“This can only be done once, and it must be done right because of the impact it will have on this election,” Bove said. “There are questions about the judge. There are questions about our ability to file motions.”

The Manhattan district attorney’s office responded by urging the court to reject the latest attempt to delay the trial. “There is a powerful public interest to ensure this trial moves forward on the scheduled date,” Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Chief of Appeals Steven Wu said Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Trump’s legal team asked the appeals court to delay the trial so he could challenge a gag order stopping the former president from making statements about witnesses, family members of the judge and prosecutors, and jurors. Trump’s lawyers also argued that the trial can’t take place in Manhattan because of pretrial publicity. Both times, the requests to take emergency steps to delay the trial were swiftly denied.

Wednesday’s last-ditch motion came on a day when the appeals court’s afternoon calendar was packed with previously scheduled arguments that occupied the main storied courtroom.

To accommodate the emergency action, the basement of the courthouse was transformed into a makeshift courtroom. Tables and chairs were rearranged to create an area that would serve as the bench for the judge, and two tables facing it for the attorneys. It is believed to be the first time such an accommodation was made.

The room, with restrooms off to the side, is usually a waiting area for lawyers before they argue their cases.

Bove said at the hearing that Trump’s attorneys objected to the restrictions on filing motions, arguing that if Trump has a motion to preclude testimony by Michael Cohen and he’s scheduled to start testifying the next day, they can’t file the motion in time.

“That 72 hours in the middle of the trial eliminates our ability to file that motion from one day to the next,” Bove said, adding that it’s not consistent with Trump’s constitutional right to defend himself.

On presidential immunity, Bove said: “This is a situation where the judge has exceeded his authority under circumstances with very, very serious implications.”

Wu responded that Trump is not following proper procedure to challenge the judge’s rulings.

“Even when a trial court may have erred in adopting a procedural order the solution is to wait until final judgment and handle on direct appeal,” Wu said.

Wu also pushed back on claims that Judge Juan Merchan would need to recuse himself from the case. “Their recusal arguments are completely meritless,” Wu said, noting that the advisory committee has looked at this specific conflict and determined there was no conflict.

A lawyer arguing on behalf of the court, Lisa Evans, also weighed in to oppose Trump’s recusal petition, saying, “There’s absolutely no evidence to show that Judge Merchan stands to benefit from the outcome of this trial. There’s no proof.”

In an earlier motion, Trump asked Merchan to delay the trial until the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s claim he is entitled to presidential immunity from prosecution in an unrelated federal criminal case involving his alleged interference in the 2020 election, which the Supreme Court is considering later this month. Merchan denied the motion, saying it was made too late.

Bove argued Wednesday that the ruling precludes Trump from objecting to prosecutors introducing certain evidence, such as tweets he made while president, at trial.

Wu responded that was an incorrect reading of the judge’s ruling.

In a brief two-page notice of petition filed earlier in the day, Trump’s lawyers said Merchan overstepped his authority when he issued a ruling denying Trump’s motion to postpone the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on immunity.

The notice also said Trump is seeking to challenge the judge’s ability to oversee the trial. Previously, Trump filed a motion asking Merchan to recuse himself from the case saying the judge is conflicted based on work his daughter does for a political consulting firm that has worked for Democrats. The judge has not yet ruled on that motion.

After CNN reviewed the notice of petition on the public docket, the filing was sealed.

This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.

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