Former President Donald Trump is again seeking to delay the start of the trial in his criminal case in New York, this time by suing the judge just a week before jury selection was scheduled to begin.
In two filings sealed Monday, Trump asked an appeals court to change venue in the case and suspend the gag order that prevents him from publicly commenting on, among other things, the judge’s daughter, who works for a democratic party. aligned consulting firm, according to a source close to the files.
The documents are not public, but in an online court database they appear under the headings “change of location” and “stay.” Appeal documents related to a criminal proceeding are initially sealed while they are examined for sensitive information.
The trial was already delayed at the last minute, from March 25 to April 15, after Trump’s lawyers complained that evidence related to the case was provided late after subpoenaing the federal Justice Department to obtain documents related to the case. Trump’s lawyers blamed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for the problem, but Judge Juan Merchan concluded that Bragg’s office was not at fault.
At a March 25 hearing, he rejected Trump’s request to further delay the trial.
Trump’s lawyers have already argued that he cannot get a fair trial in Manhattan, citing a survey they commissioned of 2,000 New Yorkers that they said showed Trump’s favorability was indeed highest among residents outside of New York City.
Trump also railed against the gag order in the case, which thwarted a near-daily barrage of social media posts claiming Merchan was biased because of his daughter’s work. He twice sought Merchan’s recusal from the case, an attempt that was first rejected in 2023, when Merchan cited a state ethics board review that concluded he did not was not ethically compromised.
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