Former President Donald Trump is suing the Manhattan judge overseeing the criminal case against him, according to a legal filing on Monday reported by The New York Times.
Trump, who is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a 2016 “hush” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, has spent weeks now railing against Judge Juan M. Merchan. One ex-prosecutor likened his attacks on Merchan — and Merchan’s daughter — to the behavior of a “mob boss.”
That behavior led Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to seek a revised gag order barring such attacks on the judge’s family. Now, with the trial set to begin April 15, Trump is again trying to stall the case against him, this time with a legal filing that directly targets Judge Merchan.
According to the Times, the filing constitutes an “Article 78” action, a proceeding that can be used to challenge decisions by state officials and judges in New York. While it remains under seal, the former president has claimed that the gag order against him violates his right to free speech.
CBS News noted that Trump’s lawyers also on Monday asked a state appeals court to overturn the gag order against him and move the case out of Manhattan. Judge Merchan had previously denied Trump's efforts to push back the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on his argument that former presidents enjoy total legal immunity after leaving office.
Trump is accused of directing his personal attorney to make a $130,000 payment ahead of the 2016 election to buy the silence of Daniels, who claims she had an affair with the former president.
Michael Cohen, who made the payment on Trump’s behalf, himself received a three-year prison sentence in 2018.
