Judge delays Trump’s hush-money criminal trial 30 days, citing last-minute evidence dump
A choose on Friday delayed former President Donald Trump’s hush-money felony trial till at the least mid-April after his attorneys stated they wanted extra time to sift by means of a profusion of proof they solely not too long ago obtained from a earlier federal investigation into the matter.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to a 30-day postponement and scheduled a listening to for March 25 to deal with questions in regards to the proof dump. The trial had been slated to start out on March 25. It is amongst 4 felony indictments towards Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
Trump’s attorneys needed a 90-day delay, which might’ve pushed the beginning of the trial into the early summer time. Prosecutors stated they have been OK with a 30-day adjournment “in an abundance of caution and to ensure that defendant has sufficient time to review the new materials.”
Trump’s attorneys stated they’ve acquired tens of 1000’s of pages of proof within the final two weeks from the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in Manhattan, which investigated the hush cash association whereas Trump was president.
The proof consists of data about former Trump lawyer-turned-prosecution witness Michael Cohen which are “exculpatory and favorable to the defense,” Trump’s attorneys stated. Prosecutors stated many of the newly turned over materials is “largely irrelevant to the subject matter of this case,” although some data are pertinent.
The hush cash case facilities on allegations that Trump falsified his firm’s data to cover the true nature of funds to Cohen, who paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 in the course of the 2016 presidential marketing campaign to suppress her claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.
Trump pleaded not responsible final 12 months to 34 felony counts of falsifying business data and has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels. His attorneys argue the funds to Cohen have been legit authorized bills and weren’t a part of any cover-up.
Prosecutors contend Trump’s attorneys brought about the proof drawback by ready till Jan. 18 — a mere 9 weeks earlier than the scheduled begin of jury choice — to subpoena the U.S. lawyer’s workplace for the complete case file.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s workplace stated it requested the complete file final 12 months however the U.S. lawyer’s workplace solely turned over a subset of data. Trump’s attorneys acquired that materials final June and had ample time to hunt extra proof from the federal probe, the district lawyer’s workplace stated.
Short trial delays due to points with proof aren’t uncommon, however any delay in a case involving Trump can be important, with trial dates in his different felony instances up within the air and Election Day lower than eight months away.
The protection has additionally sought to delay the trial till after the Supreme Court guidelines on Trump’s presidential immunity claims, which his attorneys say may apply to a number of the allegations and proof within the hush cash case. The Supreme Court is scheduled to listen to oral arguments April 25.
Trump has repeatedly sought to postpone his felony trials whereas he campaigns to retake the White House.
“We want delays,” Trump advised reporters as he headed right into a Feb. 15 listening to in New York. “Obviously I’m running for election. How can you run for election if you’re sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long?”
