Not gonna wait for Supremes – judge
Donald Trump failed Wednesday to delay the Stormy Daniels hush money trial until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on whether his former presidency places him above the law, with Judge Juan Merchan saying he brought up the issue far too late — raising “real questions” about why.
“This court finds that defendant had myriad opportunities to raise the claim of presidential immunity,” Manhattan Judge Merchan wrote, denying Trump’s motion in its entirety and calling his lawyers’ excuses for the delay “inadequate and not convincing.”
“Further, and as an aside, the fact that the defendant waited until a mere 17 days prior to the scheduled trial … raises real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion.”
Trump has invoked presidential immunity in several of his cases without success, delaying for years litigation with E. Jean Carroll, the woman he was ultimately found liable for sexually assaulting. Later this month, the nation’s high court is expected to consider his claim in special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case that his actions as president were shielded from prosecution.
On March 11, Trump’s Manhattan lawyers asked Merchan to adjourn the hush money trial — then slated for March 25 — until the Supreme Court reviews his claim. They further requested the judge prevent prosecutors from presenting evidence relating to his “official acts” as president, including threatening posts denigrating Michael Cohen and Daniels on his official government account on Twitter, now known as X.
But Merchan, who said the trial would proceed as planned on April 15, said Trump had ample time to raise the immunity defense and object to the exhibits and had long missed the deadline. He pointed to a previous decision that said he’d consider his lawyers’ objections in real time at the trial.
The effort is one of at least eight by Trump to delay what’s expected to be his first of four criminal trials. He’s pleaded not guilty to 34 felonies alleging he concealed reimbursement to Cohen during his first year in the White House to disguise their scheme the previous year to hide alleged sex scandals from voters, including an extramarital tryst with porn star Daniels.
Last year, he failed to get the hush money case moved to federal court by arguing the alleged conduct related to his duties as commander-in-chief.
“The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was a purely a personal item of the president — a coverup of an embarrassing event,” Manhattan Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein found. “Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president’s official acts.”
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche and a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg spokeswoman declined to comment.