Trump Looking to Sue Judge in Porn Star Hush Money Case in Last-Ditch Effort to Delay Trial

AP Photo/Seth Wenig; AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

Former President Donald Trump is expected to attempt to delay his impending criminal case in New York City by suing Judge Juan Merchan over the judge’s latest gag order imposed on him, The New York Times reported on Monday.

Trump is expected to become the first former president to stand trial as a criminal defendant, accused of falsifying business records in order to hide payments made to Stormy Daniels so she wouldn’t reveal their affair while he was running for president. The trial is set to begin on April 15, but court records revealed that Trump’s legal team was “filing an action” against Merchan:

Two people with knowledge of the matter said that Mr. Trump’s lawyers on Monday planned to file the action calling on an appeals court to delay the trial and to challenge a gag order that Justice Merchan recently imposed on the former president. The order prevents Mr. Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and the judge’s own family.

The move, according to the Times, is not expected to be successful given the “unorthodox” nature of it being a lawsuit against the judge.

Another filing showed that Trump’s team wants to move the trial outside of Manhattan, where a jury of his peers could be made up of people who are likely not fans of Trump: “The request reflects his deep unpopularity in the solidly Democratic borough.”

Just days ago, Judge Merchan denied the Trump team another move to delay the trial based on Trump’s immunity claims, citing the “untimely” manner of the filing.