Former US President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, US, Thursday, April 18, 2024.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Donald Trump launched a new tirade on social media on Saturday against the judge and the circumstances of his secret trial in New York, which ended with jury selection on Friday and is expected to begin opening arguments on Monday.
“THIS ‘rushed’ scam trial taking place in an area that is 95% Democratic is a planned and coordinated witch hunt,” the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee wrote in one of Truth Social’s many articles Saturday morning. “IT IS PRESIDED BY POSSIBLY THE MOST CONFLICT JUDGE IN JUDICIAL HISTORY, WHO MUST BE REMOVED FROM THIS HOAX IMMEDIATELY.”
The rant comes a day after Trump’s lawyers asked to delay the trial to find a new venue, saying New York City residents were too biased to find a fair jury.
A Manhattan appeals court quickly rejected Trump’s request, the latest in a dozen attempts to delay the trial, which was originally scheduled to begin March 25.
Despite Trump’s efforts to postpone the hearing, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Trump’s trial, said closing arguments in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president would begin Monday morning.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with an alleged cover-up of a secret $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s social media rants targeting Merchan and others involved in the trial have become a habit for the former president, despite a silence order imposed in March.
Trump publicly attacked the judge’s daughter, who worked for a progressive political consulting firm, and repeatedly called on the judge to recuse himself.
Prosecutors on Monday asked Merchan to penalize Trump for his apparent violations of the silence order, specifically citing three of his social media posts, which targeted several witnesses, including Stormy Daniels and his former lawyer Michael Cohen.
Prosecutors sought a $1,000 penalty for each of the three posts and asked the judge to warn Trump that future violations could result in prison time.
Mercan said he would schedule a hearing on prosecutors’ request for Wednesday.
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