Less than 24 hours after another judge refused Donald Trump's request to delay his criminal trial on other grounds, a state appeals court judge declined his motion on Tuesday.
Following Trump attorney Emil Bove's request for a stay of proceedings to challenge Judge Juan Merchan's "unconstitutional" partial gag order against Trump last month and expanded days later, the ruling came around an hour later.
Bove claimed the gag order bars Trump from criticizing witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and their relatives, the judge's relatives, jurors, and potential jurors, preventing his client from commenting on publicly filed motions and violating the former president's Sixth and First Amendment rights.
His court brief said the ruling causes "ongoing, irreparable harm to Petitioner and the voting public." "He is the leading presidential candidate and this record does not support the gag order," Bove told Justice Cynthia Kern.
Manhattan district attorney Steven Wu said the judge there's no basis for a stay and that Bove was misrepresenting the gag order and why it was issued.
"Defense counsel has framed this as high-minded," Wu said, "but these are provocative and derogatory remarks regarding witnesses and court personnel families. Not a political debate. The NYPD is involved because of staff threats that have sparked a torrent of attacks."
Kern's judgment lets Trump's attorneys argue for a stay before a full Appellate Division court. Monday morning is when jury selection begins, and his court documents for that request are due.
Justice Lizbeth González, Kern's Appellate Division colleague, denied Trump's plea to delay the trial while he appeals his claim that Manhattan is unfair in two hours on Monday.
Trump faces 34 charges of falsifying business records for hush money payments to an adult film star in the final days of the 2016 election. His plea is not guilty.
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