Judge rejects latest Trump attempt to delay New York criminal trial
A New York appeals court on Tuesday rejected another request by former President Trump to delay his hush money criminal trial.
Why it matters: It's the second time in less than 24 hours that an appeals court has rejected an 11th-hour attempt by the former president to delay his criminal trial. Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the trial on Monday.
Driving the news: Trump's lawyers sought the delay to allow a panel of appellate court judges to hear arguments on his gag order, which the former president's team argues violates his free speech rights.
- "The First Amendment harms arising from this gag order right now are irreparable," Trump lawyer Emil Bove said at the Tuesday hearing, per the Associated Press.
- Steven Wu, the appellate chief for the Manhattan DA's office, said that the gag order is warranted because there is "public interest in protecting the integrity of the trial."
- "This is not political debate. These are insults," Wu said, per AP.
State of play: Juan M. Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, issued a partial gag order over Trump late last month barring him from commenting on witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors.
- Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has frequently sought to delay proceedings in his four criminal indictments until after the election.
- An appeals court on Monday also denied a separate bid to delay the trial, with Trump's legal team arguing that it should be postponed to find a new venue outside of Manhattan.
What to watch: Trump's pair of court losses this week paves the way for his New York criminal trial to begin as planned on Monday.
- Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the case.
Go deeper: Trump's trio of court losses
Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.