A California resident who favors Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election failed to stop the former president’s hush money trial in New York after filing a lawsuit earlier this month that claims the trial is violating his voter rights.
Trump is on trial in New York after being accused of falsifying business records in an attempt to conceal hush money paid by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, denies Daniels’ allegations and has pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony counts in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The jury began deliberating on their verdict on Wednesday.
On May 15, William Frank Perron of Los Angeles filed a lawsuit against several defendants, including Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case. Perron alleges that the trial against Trump is an act of voter suppression, according to documents obtained by Newsweek.
In the filing, Perron argues that Trump’s trial was “unlawfully causing immediate, irreparable injury” to his voter rights, considering he can’t see or attend a Trump rally and has been susceptible to news media that favors President Joe Biden. Perron also alleges that his voter rights are impacted by a gag order placed on Trump that prevents the former president from talking publicly about people involved with the trial.
Perron requested that the trial be stayed until after the 2024 election. He goes on to explain that he is upset by daily news reporting about the case, citing media organizations like the Los Angeles Times, CNN, NBC News, BBC, ABC 7 and MSNBC.
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Perron alleged that Trump has a “greatly diminished opportunity” to appear in California or other states because of his presence at the New York trial.
Newsweek reached out to Perron’s attorney by phone for comment.
U.S. District Judge George Wu, who is presiding over Perron’s lawsuit, dismissed the case on May 21.
“The crux of Perron’s allegations—as disjointedly presented as they may be—is that the ongoing New York criminal trial amounts to voter suppression,” Wu wrote in the dismissal.
“As Perron sees it, because Trump is on trial several days a week in New York, he is unable to ‘vet’ Trump’s candidacy in violation of his freedom to assemble and is, instead, being ‘deluged’ with misinformation about Trump, all of which advantages Trump’s political opponent, President Joe Biden.”
The judge dismissed the trial for several reasons, including the “glaring deficiency” that Perron lacks standing in the case. The court also argued that it doesn’t have jurisdiction over the defendants in Perron’s lawsuit.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
