Trump seeks delay of hush money trial over 'prejudicial' press coverage, as he slams the case

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks from the hallway outside a courtroom where he is attending a hearing in his criminal case on charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star in New York City, U.S., March 25, 2024. Attorneys for Donald Trump have asked a judge for a "significant" delay of his fast-approaching criminal hush money trial, arguing the Republican presidential nominee cannot get a fair jury due to "prejudicial pretrial publicity." The trial on charges of falsifying business records must adjourn until that press coverage "abates," Trump's lawyers wrote last week in a filing in New York Supreme Court. But in the wake of that request, Trump himself has publicly cast doubt on the integrity of the trial through a torrent of social media posts attacking the presiding judge — and the judge's adult daughter. Those posts came after Judge Juan Merchan imposed a gag order barring Trump from speaking about likely witnesses and other figures involved in the case. The gag order does not explicitly bar Trump from attacking the judge himself. Prosecutors asked Merchan on Thursday to "clarify or confirm" that the order protects family members of the court. Trump in a slew of recent Truth Social posts has called for Merchan's recusal from the case, accusing him of political bias. A number of those posts reference Merchan's daughter's work for a Democratic political firm, and at least one of them includes her full name and picture. But in their court filing requesting a trial delay, Trump's lawyers argued that it was the press, not the former president, tainting the jury pool.