Former US President Donald Trump has urged the New York courts to postpone his criminal trial by at least one month in the case involving hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The delay is sought until the Supreme Court rules on his claim of presidential immunity.
Scheduled to return to Manhattan court on March 25, Trump, aged 77 and a Republican presidential candidate, faces charges related to falsifying the financial records of his real estate empire, the Trump Organization. The charges revolve around a $130,000 payment to Daniels to secure her silence ahead of the 2016 elections.
Trump, denying any extramarital affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is accused of 34 counts of accounting fraud, carrying a potential four-year prison sentence if convicted. His legal team argues for immunity, a claim set to be debated by the federal Supreme Court in Washington starting April 25.
In a court document dated March 7, made public on Monday, Trump’s defense asserts that the trial should be deferred “pending review by the (federal) Supreme Court of the scope of the presidential immunity doctrine.”
The US Supreme Court, on March 6, set April 25 for its nine justices to deliberate on Trump’s claimed immunity as a former president, eight months ahead of the presidential elections.
In another defamation case recently lost by Trump against writer E. Jean Carroll, resulting in an $83 million judgment, his lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, suggested the possibility of a third defamation lawsuit. Kaplan stated, “As we said after the last jury verdict, we continue to monitor every statement Donald Trump makes about our client, E. Jean Carroll.”
Last week, Trump deposited $91.6 million in court, covering the judgment and interest, to facilitate an appeal. The former president faces four criminal cases, including alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, aiming to delay trials, preferably until after the November 5 elections.