Donald Trump appears set to file a lawsuit against Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing his trial for alleged falsification of business records in order to cover up his affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
The move, which comes one week before the trial is set to start, is a last-minute attempt to delay the trial or even see it thrown out, sources with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times Monday.
Trump’s lawyers plan to file an appeals action contesting the gag order that Judge Merchan recently placed on the former president, two people with knowledge of the issue told the Times. The gag order prevents Trump from assailing court staff, prosecutors, the judge, and their family members.
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Trump has frequently attacked Merchan with baseless accusations that his daughter’s political consulting work with Democratic clients constitutes a conflict of interest for the judge. It’s one of the ways he’s sought to have Merchan removed or recused from the case. He’s also filed two recusal requests, asking Merchan to step aside.
The suit is a long-shot effort that’s unlikely to succeed, the Times reported, and an appeals court could shoot it down quickly, before the trial’s scheduled start date on April 15.
Trump has tried to delay various trials across his many legal proceedings as he campaigns in the 2024 presidential election, with the aim of postponing his four criminal trials until after election day. Those cases include the federal election interference case in D.C., the Georgia election interference case brought by prosecutor Fani Willis, and the Florida documents case led by special counsel Jack Smith, in addition to the hush-money trial.
The judges in the other criminal cases against Trump have not set trial dates. That makes the hush-money case potentially the only criminal trial Trump will face this year.
