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Judge Juan Machan and former President Donald Trump.
CNN
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The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's upcoming New York criminal trial has denied his request to delay the start of the trial pending a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Trump's request for presidential immunity.
Judge Juan Melchan on Wednesday dismissed the motion as untimely, noting that Trump's lawyers have several months to file a motion on the issue.
“This court finds that defendants had countless opportunities to raise their claims of presidential immunity well before March 7, 2024,” the order reads. “After all, the defendant had already presented the same issue in federal court, and all the while the defendant knew and was aware that the public intended to present relevant evidence at trial. The circumstances taken as a whole test the credibility of this court.”
Trump is acquitted of all charges in his criminal trial related to hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, scheduled to begin with jury selection on April 15. is recognized.
Marchan had previously ruled that Trump's lawyers could object if prosecutors presented evidence at trial that appeared to be related to the president's actions, but Wednesday's ruling addresses this issue. did not mention it further.
“The Court declines to consider whether the doctrine of presidential immunity precludes evidence of purported official acts of the President from being introduced in criminal proceedings,” the order reads.
When President Trump filed his motion on March 7, the trial was still scheduled to begin on March 25. A week later, federal prosecutors withheld documents and the trial was postponed to mid-April.
This story has been updated with additional information.
