CNN
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A New York appeals court has denied Donald Trump’s request to change the venue of his upcoming money laundering trial.
Lawyers for the former president on Monday urged the court to delay the trial so it can consider whether to change venue, arguing that Trump cannot get a fair jury in New York.
But Associate Justice Lizbeth Gonzalez quickly denied the request to stay the trial after hearing arguments Monday, and there was no further argument on the motion for a change of venue.
Trump’s lawyers filed the petition with the state appeals court earlier in the day, a week before his trial is set to begin.
Trump’s lawyers also said they were filing a petition challenging the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Murchan, which bars Trump from publicly discussing witnesses in the upcoming trial, as well as court staff and family and the district attorney’s office. That was not disputed on Monday.
At Monday’s hearing before the appeals court, Trump’s lawyer Emile Beauvais revisited a study and media survey mentioned in the former president’s previous motion to Murchan for a delay based on pretrial publicity. The judge did not rule on that request.
“In terms of pretrial publicity in this county, this case stands alone,” Bove said.
Jury selection cannot proceed next week in a fair manner in New York County, which is Manhattan, based on their research, Trump’s lawyer argued, repeating his request that the trial be delayed pending a decision on their request for a change of venue .
The head of the appellate division of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Stephen Wu, argued that it was too late for Trump’s lawyers to make this petition so close to the start of the trial. He said the proper process is for Trump to renew a motion for a change of venue if it turns out they can’t include a fair jury from New York County in the jury selection process.
The question, Wu said, is not what the Trump poll says, but whether jury selection can include 12 impartial jurors and alternates.
“Defendant assumes throughout this argument here that publicity here is inherently prejudicial. The facts do not bear this out,” Wu said. Wu said the articles were for the most part “unbiased coverage” of the case, summarizing the allegations. He claims that such a case attracts international attention.
Nothing in Trump’s filings suggests that New York County is uniquely saturated with media coverage or that New Yorkers in the county are uniquely incapable of being fair, Wu argued.
“The mere fact that jurors know about this case is not an indication of bias,” Wu said. ”It is the defendant who enters this dispute with dirty hands because the publicity is largely his own.”
The jury questionnaire for the hush money trial was also released Monday. Potential jurors will be asked a wide range of questions, from where in town they live, where they get their news, to whether they’ve ever attended a rally for the former president or had any ties to groups like the Proud Boys or the QAnon movement.
Prospective jurors will be questioned about their feelings about Trump and will be asked if they or anyone in their circle has ever been to a Trump rally or worked or volunteered for a Trump presidential campaign, the Trump presidential administration or any other political entity , associated with Trump. They will also be asked if they have ever participated in anti-Trump groups or events. But they will not be asked specifically which political party they belong to, who they voted for, or who they have made a political contribution to.
In addition to their news consumption, jurors will be asked if they have ever read or listened to books or podcasts by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and a central witness in the case against him, or former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomeranz, who is also writing a book for this case.
Jury selection is set to begin in the hush money trial on April 15.
This title and story has been updated with additional developments.
