Judge rejects Trump's appeal to delay hush money trial

A New York appeals judge on Monday denied Donald Trump's bid to delay his April 15 criminal trial on charges stemming from the payment of money to a porn star for his silenceat a time when the former president of the United States seeks to move the case out of Manhattan.

A criminal trial against Trump would be the first against a former US president.

Trump is accused of covering up a $130,000 payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for his silence, before 2016 presidential election about a sexual encounter she has said she had with Trump a decade earlier.

Trump has denied any such encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Trump, the Republican candidate who will face Democratic President Joe Biden in the US elections on November 5, has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records.

This is one of four criminal cases he faces. The others stem from efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden, and his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving the presidency in 2021. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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