United States: Donald Trump’s endeavor to postpone his hush-money litigation, set for April 15, in Manhattan, faced a rebuff from a New York appeals tribunal in a solitary declaration on Monday.
Judge Lizbeth Gonzalez, presiding over the case, listened to contentions from Trump’s legal representatives and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office regarding the halting of the trial and its relocation, as requested by the former president. Trump’s counsel contended that Manhattan, being predominantly Democratic, harbored a populace inclined towards deeming the former president culpable, citing a survey.
Gonzalez swiftly rendered a verdict following the conclusion of the arguments on Monday, articulating, “Defendant’s motion for a suspension of the trial, pursuant to CPL § [section] 230.30, awaiting the determination of defendant’s motion for change of venue, is denied.”
The judgment, as depicted in a MeidasTouch publication, provides no additional insights into Gonzalez’s rationale for rebuffing Trump’s legal team’s entreaties. Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s legal representatives for a statement on Tuesday morning, beyond regular office hours.
Attorney, law scholar, and journalist Harry Litman, serving as a senior legal affairs columnist for The Los Angeles Times, offered commentary on the succinct decision, posting on X, formerly Twitter, “Appellate division judge denies Trump attempt to delay trial in one sentence unsigned order. Doesn’t even refer it to a panel. He is flailing and embarrassing himself within the legal system.”
The trial, likely the solitary one among the four criminal cases against the former president to commence this year, is now anticipated to commence on April 15.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is poised to seek postponement of all four trials until after the November election, considering that a victory would empower him to bring them to a halt and petition the Justice Department to dismiss some of the charges against him.
The Manhattan lawsuit emanates from purported hush-money disbursements made to adult film luminary Stormy Daniels, who alleges an affair with Trump preceding the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors allege the former president’s enterprise falsified its corporate records to conceal the transaction.
Trump, confronted with 34 felony indictments in connection with this case, has pleaded not guilty to all accusations.

Judge Gonzalez’s pronouncement on Monday does not mark the conclusion of the former president’s endeavors to delay the hush-money litigation in New York. His legal team has hinted at readiness to litigate against Juan Merchan, the presiding judge, to challenge a gag order restraining Trump from disparaging witnesses, prosecutors, and the judge’s family.
Trump has impugned Merchan’s impartiality due to his daughter’s association with a Democratic consultancy that aided President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign; he has also petitioned the judge to recuse himself from the case.
Litman expounded on this anticipated lawsuit on X, characterizing it as “desperate.” He remarked, “Trump’s latest desperate move of personally suing Merchan in the appellate division is reminiscent of his initial gambit in Palm Beach [Florida], where judge [Aileen] Cannon permitted him to take the whole action off track.”
Cannon presides over Trump’s classified documents litigation in Florida, where Trump has likewise pleaded not guilty. Appointed to the bench by Trump during his presidency in 2020, Cannon was designated last year to oversee the documents case. Since then, her decisions in the proceedings, diverging from precedent and favoring the former president, have drawn consistent criticism from observers and legal experts.