Trump suggests hush money case be moved to Staten Island

Former President Trump on Tuesday morning suggested his criminal case over a hush money payment during the 2016 campaign should be moved out of Manhattan to nearby Staten Island, an idea his own attorney dismissed days earlier as premature. 

“Very unfair venue, with some areas that voted 1% Republican. This case should be moved to nearby Staten Island – Would be a very fair and secure location for the trial,” Trump wrote on Truth Social hours before he was set to be arraigned in Manhattan. 

In the 2020 election, 57 percent of Staten Island voters backed Trump, compared to 42 percent who supported President Biden. 

Trump’s attorney in the case, Joe Tacopina, on Sunday said there had been “no discussion of that whatsoever” when asked about the possibility of seeking a change of venue to Staten Island. 

“It’s way too premature to start worrying about venue changes until we really see the indictment and grapple with the legal issues,” Tacopina said on ABC’s “This Week.”

In his Tuesday morning Truth Social post, Trump also launched new attacks against the judge presiding over the case, Juan Merchan, claiming he and his family “are well known Trump Haters.”  

Merchan previously handled the criminal case against the Trump Organization, when he ordered the company to pay a $1.6 million fine. 

Trump’s own attorneys have said they have no concerns that Merchan is biased against their client. 

The former president is set to be arraigned later Tuesday after a grand jury voted last week to indict Trump on criminal charges for his role in organizing hush money payments made to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign to keep her quiet about an alleged affair.

The indictment, which remains under seal, follows an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) that centered on a $130,000 payment fixer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before the election.