Donald Trump asked Monday to adjourn his hush-money trial indefinitely on the basis of too much “pre-trial publicity.”
The former reality TV host and his legal team are arguing that the nature of his charges is so widely known in New York that it would be impossible for him to get a fair trial. That is, of course, despite the fact that Trump has used practically all the platforms available to him, including his rallies and his social media company, to draw more attention to the proceedings.
The tactic is, most likely, another attempt to delay the only one of Trump’s criminal trials currently on the docket, with jury selection scheduled to begin April 15.
Judge Juan Merchan has so far batted away several other delay tactics by the GOP presidential nominee, resulting in a ruling last week that Trump’s legal team must first ask for permission to make future filings, in an effort to avoid more delays.
Last month, the court overcame a brief delay in the trial after the Southern District of New York offloaded 100,000 pages’ worth of documents mere days before the trial was scheduled to begin.
Trump is accused of using his former fixer Michael Cohen to sweep an affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels under the rug ahead of the 2016 presidential election. He faces 34 felony charges in this case for allegedly falsifying business records with the intent to further an underlying crime. Trump has pleaded not guilty on all counts.
This is a developing story.
