THE HILL
A New York judge rejected former President Trump’s presidential immunity claims in his hush money case Wednesday, saying Trump waited too long to raise the defense.
Judge Juan Merchan’s ruling removesanother pathway for Trump to delay his upcoming hush money trial, which on April 15 is slated to become the first criminal trial of a former president.
Unlike his other three criminal indictments, Trump had not argued he was immune from his 34 charges in the hush money case, which stems from payments made before he was president.
But the former president in recent weeks began insisting that some of prosecutors’ desired trial evidence would be precluded if the Supreme Court agrees with his immunity claims in another case. Trump had hoped to delay the trial until after the Supreme Court decides his immunity case on merits; oral arguments are scheduled for April 25.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office opposed Trump’s motion.
