Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
Former President Donald Trump has accused the judge presiding over his Manhattan criminal trial of seeking to upset his 2024 election bid.
Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan announced through a spokesperson that Trump’s trial, one in which he faces 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, will begin on March 25, 2024.
The date corresponds with what figures to be a busy primary season, and Trump alleges the date has been selected with the specific intention of harming his candidacy.
Trump, who has previously accused Merchan of being a politically motivated judge, also believes a protective order approved by Merchan constitutes a First Amendment violation.
“Just had [a] New York County Supreme Court hearing where I believe my First Amendment Rights, ’Freedom of Speech,’ have been violated,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “and they forced upon us a trial date of March 25th, right in the middle of Primary season. Very unfair, but this is exactly what the Radical Left Democrats wanted. It’s called ELECTION INTERFERENCE, and nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before!!!”
Merchan on Tuesday placed restrictions on how Trump could discuss discovery materials relating to the trial and warned Trump that he would face a “wide range of possible sanctions including a finding of contempt” if he violated the order.
Trump, who was in attendance, said he understood the instructions.
ATTORNEYS SEEK AUDIENCE WITH GARLAND
The New York court system is not the only entity with which Trump has expressed anger in recent days.
Tuesday, the attorneys representing Trump in the federal investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified documents requested a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Attorneys John Rowley and James Trusty asserted in a letter that Trump is not being given proper treatment in the process.
“Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly,” the letter, which is available on Truth Social, reads. “No President of the United States has ever, in the history of our country, been baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful fashion.”
Rowley and Trusty did not specify what actions on the part of Justice Department investigators constituted unfair treatment.
As of this writing, neither Garland nor the Justice Department have responded publicly to the letter.