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Trump suffers first loss in hush money case minutes after entering courtroom



Judge Juan M. Merchan almost immediately rejected Donald Trump's request for recusal in his hush money trial.

On the first day of court on Monday, Merchan took on Trump's attorneys' motion that the judge recuse from the case. Trump reportedly watch "stone-faced" during the proceedings.

The motion argued that Merchan should recuse himself because his daughter worked for a Democratic consulting firm.

Merchan said Trump's attorneys' motion "does not reasonably or logically” explain why he should be recused.

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"To say that these claims are attenuated is an understatement," Merchan said. "There is no basis for recusal."

With that, the judge denied the recusal motion, according to reports.

"Trump appears to be very attentive," CNN's Paula Reid noted.

"Our colleagues say he is looking straight ahead at a screen. Our colleagues also report that he's biting his bottom lip as the judge rejects his motion for recusal."

Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult movie star after an alleged affair. He has denied all the allegations made against him.

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‘Virtually impossible’: Trump demands delay to classified docs case as NYC trial continues



Former President Donald Trump Thursday demanded a pause in his classified documents case in Florida, arguing his lawyers are too busy trying to keep him out of jail in New York City, court records show.

Trump’s attorneys Todd Blanche and Chris Kise doubled down on the weekend's deadline extension demands, opposed by special counsel Jack Smith, in a new request to Judge Aileen Cannon, according to Florida federal court documents.

The attorneys claim they cannot continue without access to a sensitive compartmented information facility, a military term for an enclosed area used to process sensitive information.

“Simply put, [former] President Trump and his counsel cannot prepare — or even discuss — the required filings anywhere but an appropriate SCIF,” the attorneys write. “A virtually impossible task given President Trump and Messrs. Blanche ... involvement in People v. Trump.”

People v. Trump is more commonly known as the hush money trial, which began this week in New York City, where the former president faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments made to a star of adult films, Stormy Daniels.

Legal experts also call it an election interference case, as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg contends Trump paid Daniels not to talk about sexual encounters ahead of the 2016 presidential race. Trump denies the allegations.

Blanche is overseeing both the hush money and the classified documents case — in which the former president stands accused of Espionage Act violations linked to classified documents found in his Mar-a-Lago bathroom, among other places — as well as weighing in on the D.C. election interference case.

Reports from inside the courtroom show Blanche’s many responsibilities Thursday included chastising Trump for disobeying court rules by taking out his phone.

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“Trump is using his phone in the courtroom, openly flouting the rules of the courtroom,” reported NBC correspondent Kyle Griffin. “Blanche just told him to stop and Trump tucked the phone in his pocket while looking annoyed.”

Thursday’s filing also contains the promise that the New York City trial is moving along at rapid speed.

“The trial is proceeding expeditiously,” the lawyers write. “And jury selection may be completed by the end of this week.”

This letter arrived the same day two jurors were excused, leaving just five selected for a panel of 16.

This is hardly Trump's first attempt to delay the Florida trial, a tactic legal experts say is aims to push the court date past the presidential election. If Trump reclaims the White House, he could essentially kill the case.