In a recent development, former US President Donald Trump's bid to delay his trial on charges related to hush money payments has been denied by a New York judge. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 15th in front of Judge Juan Merchan.

Trump's request to postpone the trial until the US Supreme Court reviews his claim to presidential immunity in a separate criminal case has been deemed untimely by Judge Merchan. The judge stated that Trump's lawyers had ample opportunities to raise the immunity issue before, but they only did so in a court filing on March 7th.

During previous proceedings, Judge Merchan had criticized Trump's legal team for missing filing deadlines and waiting until two and a half weeks before jury selection to address the immunity issue. However, the reason for the late filing was not adequately explained.

The former president contends that he is immune from prosecution for alleged official acts during his time in office. Trump's lawyers argue that some evidence and actions in the hush money case overlap with his tenure in the White House and should be considered official acts.

The trial marks the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president, with jury selection set to commence on April 15th. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records in order to conceal the $130,000 hush money payment made by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her silent about an alleged sexual encounter before the 2016 election.

Just two days ago, Judge Merchan extended a gag order against Trump, preventing him from making inflammatory comments about the judge's family members after they became targets of personal attacks. The new protective order allows Trump to criticize the judge and the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, who charged Trump last year with falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal before the 2016 election. However, Trump is expressly prohibited from attacking the family members of lawyers, court staff, the judge, and the district attorney, as specified in the revised order issued by Judge Merchan.

As the trial date nears, all eyes are now on the courtroom, where this high-profile trial will unfold, setting precedent and shaping the future course of legal proceedings involving former US presidents.