And once again Donald Trump has suffered a setback in the criminal trial over hush money payments to a porn star: For the third time this week, a court refused to delay the trial.
It is another defeat for Donald Trump in the case of hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels: A New York appeals court again rejected the former US President’s request to postpone the criminal trial scheduled for April 15th. Trump’s third attempt this week failed.
The criminal trial is taking place in the middle of the presidential election campaign – with Trump as the likely Republican candidate. The jury will almost certainly decide on Trump’s guilt or innocence before the election in early November. The 77-year-old has denied any guilt in the case, as in all of his legal proceedings.
Trump is accused of falsifying business documents related to a hush money payment to Daniels before the 2016 election. His former lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 for her silence about a sexual encounter with Trump. According to her account, this is said to have taken place in 2006.
Trump denied having a sexual encounter with the woman – real name Stephanie Clifford. However, he admitted that he had reimbursed Cohen.
Lawyers see bias on the part of the judge
The New York Times wrote that the latest request “underscored Trump’s increasingly desperate attempts to delay the process.” Specifically, his lawyers were trying to gain time for the final examination of a lawsuit against the responsible judge, Juan Merchan. The Republican’s lawyers argue that the judge is biased because his adult daughter also worked as a consultant for Democrats.
Further processes are still pending
If he is found guilty, Trump also faces political adversity: a close result is expected in the November election in the duel against incumbent Joe Biden. The trial starting Monday in New York is the first of four criminal proceedings against Trump. He should begin selecting the jury.
According to legal experts, the other three cases are more serious than the alleged hush money payments: Trump is accused of involvement in election fraud and unlawful handling of confidential documents. However, these processes have been postponed. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all four cases, arguing they were politically motivated.