Donald Trump seeks delay in hush money case until Supreme Court decides on immunity

Former President Donald Trump sought to delay his upcoming trial in Manhattan about paying hush money to a porn star.

The former president wants to the New York court to postpone the trial until the Supreme Court decides if he has immunity from criminal charges related to the actions during his presidency. He pleaded for broad immunity in his federal election-subversion case.

The trial is set for March 25. The lawsuit is about Donald Trump's alleged payment he made to cover up the affair with porn star during final weeks of the 2016 campaign before he became the president of the USA. However, some evidence involves things he did after becoming the president.

Trump's lawyers, Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles, asked the judge to delay the trial until after the Supreme Court decides on presidential immunity. They raised concerns about evidence from when Trump was president, including a "pressure campaign" in 2018.

They argued that statements made by Trump on his official Twitter account during his presidency and documents submitted to the US Office of Government Ethics should be protected by presidential immunity. They fear without this immunity, future presidents might face political opponents trying to control decisions through the threat of prosecution.

Donald Trump has been using the presidential immunity argument in all four of his criminal cases, including attempts to overturn the 2020 election case in Georgia and alleged hoarding of classified documents after leaving the White House.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Trump's immunity claim on April 25, with a decision expected by June. Legal experts believe that Donald Trump's immunity argument will not succeed. However, they said that he has effectively delayed his federal election case for several months.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not comment on the request to delay the trial.