Trump loses latest bid to delay hush money trial – two weeks into testimony

The former president had sought a delay for several reasons, including that presiding Judge Juan Merchan had refused to recuse himself from the case

Donald Trump’s latest attempt to delay his criminal hush money trial in New York has been denied during the second week of courtroom testimony.

The former president had sought a delay for several reasons, including that presiding Judge Juan Merchan had refused to recuse himself from the case, and that he had not been permitted to invoke a presidential immunity defence.

Mr Trump had also claimed that Judge Merchan had restricted his ability “to file motions in said proceedings and include rulings and submissions in the public record”.

The appeal was denied by justices of the New York appeals court on Tuesday.

The ruling came down just hours after Judge Merchan ordered the former president to pay a fine of $9,000 earlier on Tuesday for violating a gag order on nine separate occasions.

Former president Donald Trump appears in court in Manhattan on 30 April for his hush money trial (AP)

Prosecutors had argued Mr Trump broke the gag order 10 times in Truth Social posts and campaign messages, including posts where he attacked key witnesses in the trial.

The judge agreed that he had violated the gag order on nine of those occasions and found the former president in contempt of court. He was fined $1,000 for each.

In his written order, the judge warned that Mr Trump could face an “incarceratory punishment” if he continues his “wilful violations” of the court’s order, if “necessary and appropriate under the circumstances”.

He also suggested that Mr Trump could face more severe sanctions, if the financial penalties aren’t enough to stop the billionaire defendant.

“While $1,000 may suffice in most instances to protect the dignity of the judicial system to compel respect for its mandates and to punish the offender for disobeying a court order, it unfortunately will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the contemnor can easily afford such a fine,” Judge Merchan wrote.

“In those circumstances, it would be preferable if the court could impose a fine more commensurate with the wealth of the contemnor,” he added.

“In some cases that might be a $2,500 fine, in other cases it might be a fine of $150,000. Because this court is not cloaked with such discretion, it must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”

Donald Trump chats with his son Eric Trump on the fifth day of testimony at his hush money trial (REUTERS)

The posts in question were deleted from Mr Trump’s account during Tuesday’s lunch break, less than an hour before the 2.15pm deadline set by Judge Merchan. The former president must pay the fine by Friday.

As well as dishing out the fine, Judge Merchan said he would give the court a day off to allow Mr Trump to attend his son Barron Trump’s high school graduation on 17 May.

The trial – the first criminal trial to be brought against a former or sitting president – is now in its third week.

Last week saw the beginning of courtroom testinomy from witnesses including tabloid mogul David Pecker. Mr Pecker outlined the “catch and kill” scheme at the heart of the hush money case, in which stories deemed to be damaging to Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign would allegedly be bought up to be killed.

The former president is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, in order to stop her coming forward with allegations of a 2006 affair.