NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Donald Trump is seeking to delay his March 25 hush money trial until the Supreme Court rules on the presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases.
The Republican former president鈥檚 lawyers on Monday asked Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan to adjourn the New York criminal trial indefinitely until Trump鈥檚 immunity claim in his Washington, D.C., election interference case is resolved.
Merchan did not immediately rule. In an order late Monday, he chided Trump鈥檚 lawyers for missing a filing deadline, waiting until 2 1/2 weeks before jury selection to raise the immunity issue and failing to 鈥渆xplain the reason for the late filing.鈥 Going forward, the judge said, Trump鈥檚 lawyers and prosecutors must get his permission before making any other pretrial motions.
Trump contends he is immune from prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. His lawyers argue some of the evidence and alleged acts in the hush money case overlap with his time in the White House and constitute official acts.
The Supreme Court is , a month after the scheduled start of jury selection in Trump鈥檚 hush money case. It is the first of his four criminal cases slated to go to trial as he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination in his quest to retake the White House.
The Manhattan district attorney鈥檚 office declined to comment. Prosecutors are expected to respond to Trump鈥檚 delay request in court papers later this week.
Trump first raised the immunity issue in his Washington, D.C., criminal case, which involves allegations that he worked of the 2020 election in the run-up to the by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The hush money case centers on allegations that Trump falsified his company鈥檚 internal records to hide the true nature of payments to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who helped Trump bury negative stories during his 2016 presidential campaign. Among other things, Cohen paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to suppress her claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.
Trump鈥檚 lawyers argue that some evidence Manhattan prosecutors plan to introduce at the hush money trial, including messages he posted on social media in 2018 about money paid to Cohen, were from his time as president and constituted official acts.
Trump last year to of falsifying business records. He has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses and not part of any cover-up.
A federal judge last year rejected Trump鈥檚 claim that allegations in the hush money indictment involved official duties, nixing his bid to move the case from state court to federal court. Had the case been moved to federal court, Trump鈥檚 lawyers could鈥檝e tried to get the charges dismissed on the grounds that federal officials have immunity from prosecution over actions taken as part of their official duties.
鈥淭he evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was a purely a personal item of the President 鈥 a cover-up of an embarrassing event,鈥 U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein wrote last July. 鈥淗ush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a President鈥檚 official acts. It does not reflect in any way the color of the President鈥檚 official duties.鈥
Trump鈥檚 lawyers appealed Hellerstein鈥檚 ruling, but dropped the appeal in November. They said they were doing so with prejudice, meaning they couldn鈥檛 change their minds.
The question of whether a former president is immune from federal prosecution for official acts taken in office is legally untested.
Prosecutors in the Washington, D.C., case have said no such immunity exists and that, in any event, none of the actions Trump is alleged to have taken in the indictment charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden count as official acts.
The trial judge in Washington and a federal appeals court have both ruled against Trump, but the high court agreed last month to give the matter fresh consideration 鈥 a decision that delays the federal case in Washington and injects fresh uncertainty as to when it might reach trial.
___
Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
