Trump Asks Judge to Delay NY Criminal Trial

Donald Trump is trying to delay his New York criminal trial scheduled to begin March 25. In a court filing Monday, his lawyers asked Judge Juan Merchan to delay the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on his claim of presidential immunity in his federal election interference case, NBC News reports. The New York case involves hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels before Trump was president, but some of the allegations overlap with Trump's time in office, reports the AP. Merchan did not immediately rule on the request to delay the trial indefinitely. The former president has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

In Monday's filing, Trump's lawyers said prosecutors plan to introduce evidence of an alleged "pressure campaign" against Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney, while Trump was president, reports Reuters. They said Trump's social media posts about Cohen should be considered "official communications." "Without immunity from criminal prosecution based on official acts, the President's political opponents will seek to influence and control his or her decisions via de facto extortion," they wrote.

Last year, a federal judge rejected a similar argument from Trump's lawyers when they tried to get the case shifted to federal court. "The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was a purely a personal item of the President—a cover-up of an embarrassing event," US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said. "Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a President's official acts." (In a new documentary, Daniels says Trump cornered her in his hotel room.)