In a third legal challenge regarding former President Donald Trump's upcoming criminal trial, his lawyers appeared in a New York appeals court on Wednesday. The court docket revealed that Trump's attorneys filed a lawsuit invoking a provision of New York law called Article 78, which allows litigants to seek relief from alleged unlawful state or local government actions.

The documents filed by Trump's legal team were submitted under seal, keeping the details of the challenge undisclosed. However, the Manhattan district attorney's office, responsible for prosecuting the case, stated that the challenge relates to Judge Juan Merchan's refusal to recuse himself from presiding over the trial. Trump's attorneys have argued that the judge's daughter's employment at a political firm that worked for President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign creates significant conflicts of interest.

With the trial scheduled to commence on Monday, a hearing on the challenge was expected to occur later on Wednesday. Trump's legal team had previously submitted another Article 78 petition to the Appellate Division, seeking to halt the trial by claiming their client could not receive a fair trial in Manhattan. This petition was denied by a judge on Monday. Additionally, a separate judge rejected Trump's request to postpone the trial while he appeals the gag order imposed on him by Judge Merchan, deeming it to be unconstitutional.

As the legal battle intensifies, the former president's lawyers are making strategic moves to challenge various aspects of the impending trial. The outcome of these challenges will determine the course of the trial and potentially impact its dates or procedures. Legal experts are closely monitoring these developments, while the public awaits the start of Trump's criminal trial next week.