For the third consecutive day, a New York appeals court on Wednesday once again turned down a request from former President Trump’s legal team to postpone his upcoming hush money trial.
This latest legal setback marks another blow for Trump and raises the chances that the trial will commence as planned on April 15. Trump maintains his plea of not guilty against 34 felony charges linked to allegations of manipulating business records to conceal payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
In recent developments, Trump’s attorneys made multiple unsuccessful attempts to delay the trial for various reasons earlier this week. Their bid to move the trial to a different location outside Manhattan was dismissed on Monday. Subsequently, the court rejected their plea for a delay to enable a panel of appellate court judges to review a gag order imposed on Trump.
The gag order, instituted by acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, aimed to prevent Trump from verbally attacking witnesses, prosecutors, and the relatives of individuals involved in the New York hush money case. Despite the order, Trump persisted in making such statements even after its enforcement.