Appeals court denies Trump's bid to delay N.Y. hush money trial

• With the denial, Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, is days away from standing criminal trial for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Driving the news: The change of venue was just one delay strategy Trump's lawyers deployed on Monday, as they also asked the court to reverse a gag order imposed on Trump by the judge overseeing the case, acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.

• The gag order was intended to stop the former president from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and the family members of those involved in the New York hush money case, though Trump continued to do so after Merchan imposed the order.
• The appeals court said it would take up the gag order issue at a later date.

Zoom out: Trump claimed over the weekend that it would be a "great honor" to be jailed over Merchan's gag order, saying it would make him a "Modern Day Nelson Mandela."

The big picture: The requests to the appeals court were part of Trump's overarching strategy to delay each of his four criminal cases until after the 2024 presidential election.

• Currently, only his New York hush money case is on track to wrap up before November.

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