Trump berates judge for 'rushed' hush money trial, days before opening statements

• Donald Trump took to social media Saturday to rail against the judge, the timing of the New York hush money trial and the venue.
• Jury selection for the trial finished on Friday and opening arguments are due on Monday.
• Trump has repeatedly targeted those involved in his trial on social media, appearing to violate a gag order imposed in March.

Donald Trump on Saturday took to social media to deliver another tirade against the judge and the circumstances of his New York hush money trial, which wrapped up jury selection on Friday and is expected to begin opening arguments on Monday.

"THIS SCAM 'RUSHED' TRIAL TAKING PLACE IN A 95% DEMOCRAT AREA IS A PLANNED AND COORDINATED WITCH HUNT," the 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee wrote in one of several Truth Social posts on Saturday morning. "IT IS BEING PRESIDED OVER BY POSSIBLY THE MOST CONFLICTED JUDGE IN JUDICIAL HISTORY, WHO MUST BE REMOVED FROM THIS HOAX IMMEDIATELY."

The rant comes a day after Trump's attorneys requested to delay the trial to find a new location, claiming that New York City residents were too biased to find a fair jury.

A Manhattan appeals court quickly rejected Trump's request, the latest of roughly a dozen attempts to delay the trial, which was initially scheduled to kick off March 25.

Despite Trump's efforts to postpone, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who presides over Trump's case, said that opening arguments for the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president would start Monday morning.

Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to an alleged cover-up of a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump's social media rants targeting Merchan and others involved in the trial