To be clear, this was a separate immunity claim from the one in Trump’s federal election interference case; that one is pending Supreme Court review, with oral argument set for April 25. Citing the Supreme Court’s decision to review the claim in the Jan. 6-related case, Trump sought an adjournment last month in the New York case, and he also sought to preclude evidence in the New York case based on immunity.

But the New York judge rejected Trump’s outlandish bid for the simple reason that it was untimely. The former president could have raised it much earlier but only did so last month. Indeed, Merchan pointed out that Trump raised the issue just 17 days before the hush money case was previously set to go to trial, on March 25. The last-minute nature of the request “raises real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion,” Merchan wrote.