On Wednesday, a New York state judge rejected Donald Trump’s plea to postpone the commencement of the scheduled trial on October 2nd in Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud lawsuit accusing the former president, his family, and the Trump Organization of artificially inflating the value of his assets.

On Tuesday evening, Trump’s legal team requested to “briefly” postpone the trial until three weeks after Justice Arthur F. Engoron had issued rulings on both parties’ requests for summary judgments. Those requests aimed to secure victories on various legal matters without the necessity of a trial.

“A trial of this magnitude should not begin in chaos,” Trump’s attorneys wrote. “The court and the defendants are entitled to know the claims and issues to be tried sufficiently in advance to prepare adequately for trial.”

But Engoron called the request for a delay “completely without merit.” Earlier this year when he set the trial date, he said it would not change “come hell or high water.”

In another filing, Trump requested that James withdraw her motion seeking to impose a $20,000 sanction on the defendants and their legal representatives for persistently presenting arguments that Justice Engoron has already dismissed, calling James’ accusation “frivolous.”

James, who campaigned on a pledge to “get” Trump and his family, is seeking $250 million at least in alleged damages. She also wants to bar Trump and his family from leading any businesses registered in New York.

In another legal development on Wednesday, a federal judge held Trump responsible for defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll by denying her rape allegation in 2019. The judge specified that a jury would determine the amount of damages Trump must pay.

Trump has entered separate not-guilty pleas in response to charges in four distinct federal and state criminal indictments. Those charges include two indictments related to efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.