Trump loses latest bid to delay hush money trial - two weeks into testimony

Donald Trump’s latest appeal for a delay in his criminal hush money trial inNew York has been denied, two weeks after proceedings began.

The former president had sought a delay for several reasons, including that presiding Judge Juan Merchan had refused to recuse himself from the case, and that he had not been permitted to invoke a presidential immunity defense.

Mr Trump had also argued thatJudge Merchan has restricted his ability “to file motions in said proceedings and include rulings and submissions in the public record.”

The appeal was denied by justices of the New York appeals court on Tuesday.

It comes after Judge Merchan continues to clash with Mr Trump in the Manhattan courtroom, ordering the former president to pay a fine of $9,000 earlier on Tuesday for violating a previous gag order.

He found the former president in contempt of court on nine of the first ten violations of the gag order, which had prohibited Mr Trump from attacking key witnesses in the trial on his social media platform Truth Social, fining him $1,000 for each.

In his written order, the judge warned that Mr Trump could face an “incarceratory punishment” if he continues his “wilful violations” of the court’s order, if “necessary and appropriate under the circumstances”.

He also suggested that Mr Trump could face more severe sanctions, if the financial penalties aren’t enough to stop the billionaire defendant.

“While $1,000 may suffice in most instances to protect the dignity of the judicial system to compel respect for its mandates and to punish the offender for disobeying a court order, it unfortunately will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the contemnor can easily afford such a fine,” Judge Merchan wrote.

“In those