Trump's Third Bid To Delay Hush Money Trial Rejected

An appellate judge on Wednesday rejected former President Donald Trump's third attempt in three days to postpone his New York criminal trial for hush money case, which is set to start next week.

Justice Ellen Gesmer deliberated for 30 minutes before swiftly issuing a concise one-sentence order rejecting the stay request from the former president's lawyers, who said Trump should be on the campaign trail instead of "defending himself in a courtroom."

Unless there is further intervention from the courts, this ruling paves the path for jury selection to commence next Monday.

Later this month, a panel of appellate judges will review Trump's written contentions regarding the recusal of Judge Juan Merchan from the case and his objections to some of judge's rulings.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to accusations of concealing a $130,000 hush money payment orchestrated by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford.

The payment was allegedly aimed to secure Daniels' silence regarding an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.

Wednesday's court filing represented the most recent in a series of rapid-fire maneuvers by Trump's legal team at the appeals court this week, aimed at halting the trial before its start.

Despite the setbacks, Trump still has the option to appeal the rejected motions to New York state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, although acceptance of the motion is not guaranteed.

During Wednesday's hearing, Trump's attorney, Emil Bove, said the former president pursued a stay based on three key issues integral to the "core, fundamental fairness" of the trial: the call for recusal, limitations on filing defense motions, and the assertion of presidential immunity.

In response, the Manhattan District Attorney's office urged the court to dismiss the latest effort to postpone the trial.

Trump faced two previous setbacks this week with the appeals court. On Monday, one appeals court judge dismissed his attempt to postpone the trial as he seeks a venue change out of Manhattan. Then, on Tuesday, another judge denied his request, presented within a lawsuit against Merchan, for the trial's delay while Trump contests a recently imposed gag order.

As Trump gears up to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in their November 5 U.S. election rematch, the hush money case is one of four criminal indictments he faces.

Trump has tried to postpone proceedings in all cases until after the election, with the hush money case being the only one with a definite trial date.

The remaining cases relates to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Biden and his handling of classified government documents following his departure from the presidency in 2021.

Trump maintains his plea of not guilty to all charges.