Donald Trump Handed Two Legal Losses in Same Day

Former President Donald Trump is pictured with his lawyer Todd Blanche outside his hush money criminal trial in New York City on May 21, 2024. A New York appeals court issued dual rulings against Trump in the case on Thursday.

Former President Donald Trump has suffered two key court losses as his New York City criminal trial nears its conclusion.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, one of two women who were paid off during his 2016 presidential campaign to keep quiet about alleged affairs. Trump denies that the affairs took place and claims to be the victim of a political "witch hunt."

On Thursday, only days before the trial's closing arguments were set to begin, panels of judges from New York's Appellate Division ruled against Trump twice—denying separate requests to force New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to recuse himself from the case and to move the trial out of Manhattan and into another county.

In the recusal decision, the court wrote that Trump's legal team had "failed to establish that the court acted in excess of its jurisdiction" when Merchan denied the initial request. The panel of judges also found that the former president's lawyers had not established that Trump "has a clear right to recusal."

However, the judges also said that Trump's arguments concerning Merchan and his related claims of presidential immunity "may be raised in a direct appeal" of the case following the trial's final outcome.

The denial of the request to change the location of the trial was issued with little explanation, with the judges only writing that they had denied Trump's motion for a venue change following "due deliberation" after "reading and filing the papers with respect to the motion."

Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump's office via email on Thursday.

After the prosecution and defense rested their cases, Merchan announced on Tuesday that the jury would adjourn until next week, when closing arguments are slated to begin.

Deliberations are likely to start soon afterward, with a verdict potentially also coming as soon as next week. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, could face years in prison if convicted.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump last year, making him the first former president in U.S. history to face a criminal indictment. Three additional felony criminal indictments quickly followed, including two federal cases and one case in Georgia's Fulton County.

The case in New York, however, is the only criminal proceeding likely to conclude before the November election, when Trump is expected to face a rematch with President Joe Biden.

Polls have indicated that the election may be decided by a razor-thin margin. The Manhattan trial's verdict could potentially tilt public opinion on Trump enough to decide the outcome of the race.

"The four cases seem to have had very little influence for now on Mr. Trump's reelection chances," former Department of Justice lawyer Gene Rossi told Newsweek earlier this week.

"If the New York trial results in a conviction, then there may be a bloc of voters (3-5 percent) for whom the conviction will be a factor in their decision," he added. "If [there is] an acquittal or hung jury, Mr. Trump will claim a huge victory and increase his chances in the fall election."

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