Judge says Trump’s lawyers can’t force NBC to turn over materials related to ‘Stormy’ documentary

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers were blocked Friday from forcing NBC to provide them with materials related to the TV network’s recent documentary about porn actor Stormy Daniels, a key prosecution witness at the former president’s upcoming hush-money criminal trial in New York.

Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan said the defense’s subpoena for NBC Universal was “the very definition of a fishing expedition” and did not meet a heavy legal burden for requiring a news organization to provide unfettered access to its privileged notes and documents.

It’s the latest defeat for Trump’s legal team ahead of the April 15 trial, the first of Trump’s four criminal cases scheduled to go to trial and the first-ever for a former president.

On Wednesday, Merchan rejected the presumptive Republican nominee’s request to delay the trial until the Supreme Court rules on presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases. The judge declared that request untimely and chided Trump’s lawyers for waiting until weeks before the trial to raise the immunity issue. Several other bids to delay are pending.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche and the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment. NBC Universal also declined to comment.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> RELATED COVERAGE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Former Trump officials are among the most vocal opponents of returning him to the White House </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Americans think a president’s power should be checked,