New York, New York - Donald Trump's last-ditch attempt to delay his criminal hush money trial failed after an appeals court turned down a request from the ex-president.

Judge Lizbeth Gonzalez on Monday afternoon rejected the request to put the trial on hold until a separate motion filed by Trump's team to change the venue is resolved.

The criminal trial against Trump is the first against a former US president and is scheduled to begin next Monday in New York with jury selection.

According to media reports, Trump's lawyers are also trying to delay the start of the trial with other motions, including a lawsuit against the judge in charge, Juan Merchan, before an appeals court.

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They are also reportedly fighting against a gag order imposed by the judge on the 77-year-old's constant public statements about witnesses, jurors, and court employees. In particular, Trump has gone after Merchan and his daughter, whom he accused of being a Democratic Party operative.

The criminal charges are related to roughly $130,000 that was paid in 2016 by Trump's attorney Michael Cohen to keep quiet an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.

The GOP's presumptive nominee for the 2024 election faces three other criminal cases, two of them related to his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 race he lost to President Joe Biden.