A New York appeals court has rejected another push by former President Donald Trump to put his New York City criminal trial on hold — a rejection that came after jury selection in the proceedings was already complete, with Trump’s team claiming the process was “rushed,” as the Associated Press explained.
It’s among a series of attempts at delaying the trial that the Trump team has lost over and over again. Earlier ploys were connected to a push to change where the trial would unfold and a challenge to a gag order on Trump from presiding Judge Juan Merchan, which blocks a range of public attacks from the ex-president on witnesses, jurors, and others. This latest request, besides complaining about supposedly evident problems in the jury selection process, also hinged on a plea for changing the venue, meaning the trial’s location. But again, it failed too.
Opening statements in the Trump case are set for Monday after jury selection consumed much of last week. Also coming this week is a hearing on Trump’s alleged violations of that gag order, with prosecutors pointing to a series of social media posts from the former president. For now, they’re seeking primarily financial penalties, though detention for future violations, should he be found in contempt of court, will remain a possibility. Trump has to show up for, it seems, all of this, in contrast with the lack of requirement for him to actually attend court proceedings when their nature was civil.
In a recent interview, former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann argued that, logistically, it’s perfectly feasible for Trump to be taken into custody if that’s what the circumstances produce. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) proposed that Secret Service protection be just stripped entirely from anyone sentenced to over a year in jail, though that’s by default a long way off from actually being made into law.
