Donald Trump has said he has a "serious problem" with the judge handling his criminal case in New York and that he should be on the campaign trail, not in court.
"We will not be given a fair trial," Trump told reporters outside a Manhattan courtroom after jury selection ended for the day in his "hush money" case, one of four separate criminal cases against him.
Trump also criticized Judge Juan Mercan for denying his request to be allowed to attend a Supreme Court hearing next week.
Trump has argued that as a former president he should be immune from prosecution, a question the nation's highest court is expected to weigh in arguments on April 25.
"The judge, of course, won't let us get there," Trump said. "He thinks he's above the Supreme Court, I guess."
Trump has repeatedly criticized the judge presiding over the trial, and Merchan rejected a request by the former president's lawyers to recuse himself from the case.
"We have a real problem with this judge," Trump said. "He's a very conflicted judge."
Trump has denounced the lawsuit - brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat - as a "political witch hunt" and said he should campaign for his 2024 bid for the White House.
"I'm not in Georgia, I'm not in Florida, I'm not in North Carolina to campaign like I should," said the Republican presidential candidate. "It's about election interference."
Trump, the first former president to face criminal charges, is accused of falsifying business documents for allegedly paying hush money to a porn star just days before the 2016 presidential election to cover up a sexual encounter in 2006 /BGNES