Trump Suing N.Y. Judge Just One Week Before Hush Money Trial

 

The suit will challenge the gag order he was placed under, according to a report.

Former President Donald Trump is moving to sue Judge Juan Merchan, the New York judge presiding over his hush money trial, multiple news outlets reported, in his latest effort to delay his first-ever criminal trial—set to begin in just one week.

Trump’s lawsuit was not immediately released, but court records indicate he plans to file an appeal against Merchan on Monday.

His lawyers plan to file a suit to the New York Court of Appeals asking for a delay and challenging the gag order Merchan placed him under after repeated attacks on the judge and his daughter, two sources told the New York Times.

A second order asked to move the trial out of Manhattan, where a jury would likely have more registered Democrats, sources told the Associated Press.

Trump previously called for Merchan to recuse himself on Friday, arguing that his daughter Loren Merchan job at Authentic Campaigns, Inc., a company that runs ads for Democratic Party candidates, creates a conflict of interest.

KEY BACKGROUND

Trump goes to trial for 34 counts of falsifying business records next Monday, in a high-profile case related to reimbursements for the alleged hush money he paid adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 through his then-attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen. Trump was placed under a gag order in March after his attacks against Merchan and his daughter, but the former president has remained defiant, claiming it would be “my great honor” if he was sent to jail for violating the restrictions and comparing himself to South African leader Nelson Mandela. The actions against Merchan are likely a last-minute attempt to delay the trial. The former president has tried repeatedly to push the trial date back further, but Merchan has so far rejected these efforts, including his claim of “presidential immunity.”

TANGENT

Trump’s lawyers are expected to challenge Merchan using New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules Article 78, a law that allows a party to force a review of a New York state official’s action or decision that violated the law or failed to perform duties required by the law. This review takes the form of a lawsuit. Trump has tried this tactic before in the past—in September, Trump sued Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over his civil fraud trial, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who prosecuted him. The motion was denied by a panel of five justices on the New York Court of Appeals later that month.