On Monday, Donald Trump took a significant legal step by filing a notice of appeal in his New York criminal case, which revolves around allegations related to hush money paid to a porn star.
This move appears to be a final attempt to delay the upcoming trial scheduled for April 15.
According to records from New York state court, Trump, who is actively pursuing a return to the presidency, submitted the notice of appeal to the Appellate Division, a mid-level state appeals court. However, the specifics of the appeal documents have not yet been made public.
Trump’s legal team refrained from immediate comment following the filing of the notice of appeal, leaving the reasoning and strategy behind this action unclear.
If the trial proceeds, it would mark a historic event as the first criminal trial involving a former U.S. president.
The legal proceedings have garnered widespread attention, particularly regarding a gag order issued by Justice Juan Merchan, which prohibits Trump from publicly discussing potential witnesses, court personnel, individual prosecutors, and family members of the judge and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is prosecuting the case.
Challenge to gag order?
Reports indicate that Trump intends to challenge the gag order in his appeal, arguing that it infringes upon his right to free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The gag order was expanded to include family members after Trump made disparaging remarks online about the judge’s daughter.
The charges against Trump stem from allegations of concealing his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s payment of $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, in exchange for her silence regarding an alleged sexual encounter with Trump a decade prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has consistently denied any such encounter.
Additionally, Trump faces a separate set of charges related to falsifying business records, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
These charges are among several legal challenges Trump is confronting, including cases pertaining to his efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and allegations concerning his handling of sensitive government documents subsequent to leaving office in 2021.
Throughout these legal proceedings, Trump maintains his innocence, pleading not guilty to all charges.
