The first-ever criminal trial of former US president, Donald Trump is set to start next month, but he says he is not ready and elections comes first for him
He will be defending himself against allegations of conducting a hush-money cover-up.
The 77-year-old appeared in court in New York on Thursday, seeking to have the trial dismissed or delayed.
But Judge Juan Merchan was not swayed by arguments that the trial’s timetable would hurt his presidential campaign.
Mr Trump called the decision to start the trial on 25 March a “disgrace”.
“Obviously I’m running for election again. How can you run for election and be sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long?” he said outside the courtroom after the hearing.
Mr Trump’s lawyers had made similar arguments during the pre-trial hearing, but the New York state judge said they were not rooted in law and that he would only delay for legal reasons.
Mr Trump is widely expected to become the Republican nominee for president and face President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in an election rematch in November. He must still go through state primaries to secure the nomination.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged the former president with 34 counts of fraud, alleging Mr Trump falsified business records to disguise payments he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels as legal fees.
Ms Daniels said she was paid $130,000 (£103,000) in 2016 to stay quiet about having sex with the then-presidential candidate. Mr Trump denies they ever had an affair.
This is one of four criminal cases against the former president.
The first step of the New York trial will be putting together a jury of 12 people.
Lawyers and the judge discussed on Thursday how to select jurors for the unprecedented case, given Mr Trump’s global fame and the deep political divisions around him.
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