Former President Donald Trump lost a third attempt this week to delay his hush money trial in New York after an appeals court judge soundly rejected his claim, setting the stage for jury selection to begin on Monday.
Despite two other failed efforts this week, Trump’s lawyers argued Judge Juan Merchan should have recused himself from overseeing the case and asked for a delay while they argued for his removal. The former president has been indicted on 34 counts related to falsifying business records over an alleged hush money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has said in recent days that Merchan faces a conflict of interest as his daughter works for a political consultancy with Democratic clients. But the judge rejected a previous demand last year that he recuse himself, saying at the time the former president had “failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required.”
Merchan has not yet ruled on the latest recusal request, but is expected to do so this week.
Judge Ellen Gesmer rejected Trump’s request for a delay on Wednesday during an emergency hearing. The ruling clears the way for jury selection to begin, which would see Trump become the first former president to stand trial in U.S. history.
“Staying the trial at this point would be incredibly disruptive,” Steven Wu, the appellate chief for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, said during the emergency hearing, per The Associated Press. “The court, the people, witnesses have made extraordinary efforts to make sure this trial can take place on Monday.”
“There’s a powerful public interest to ensure this criminal trial goes forward,” Wu added.
Trump can request a full panel of five judges hear the request, but The New York Times notes it is highly unlikely for the court to do so before the trial is scheduled to begin.
The former president’s two other requests this week also failed. In one, Trump’s lawyers argued for a delay over a gag order imposed on him and in another they asked for a delay to see if there is any merit to a chance in locale for the trial.
Trump’s attorneys have attempted to delay the trial multiple times — a favored strategy for the former president, who also faces three other criminal indictments while he campaigns for the presidency. He has been successful in many ways, and several of those cases have been delayed and are likely to be pushed beyond the November election.