Former U.S. president Donald Trump’s attempt to subpoena NBCUniversal for material related to a recent documentary about porn star Stormy Daniels was blocked by the judge overseeing his upcoming criminal trial. Justice Juan Merchan rejected Trump’s claim that Daniels and NBC conspired to release the film to damage him, calling it a “fishing expedition.” Trump is facing charges related to a payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump. Trump denies any such encounter and has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records.
The documentary, titled “Stormy,” was released on NBC’s streaming service Peacock on March 18. The trial had initially been scheduled to start on March 25, but was delayed following Trump’s allegations that prosecutors were withholding evidence related to Cohen. The judge ultimately found these concerns to be without merit. In his order blocking the subpoena, Merchan noted that Trump had requested documents from NBC related to the documentary’s release date and any compensation to Daniels. NBC argued that Daniels had no control over the content or timing of the documentary.
In addition to the hush money case in New York state court in Manhattan, Trump is facing three other criminal indictments, though they do not yet have firm trial dates. The hush money case could be the only one to go to trial before the November 5 election, in which Trump is expected to run as the Republican candidate against Democratic President Joe Biden. The other cases stem from Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and his handling of government documents after leaving the White House in 2021. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all of these cases. Neither Trump’s lawyers nor NBCUniversal have commented on the judge’s decision to block the subpoena.
