NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 3: Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in the courtroom with his lawyers for his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 03, 2023 in New York City. Former President Trump may be forced to sell off his properties after Justice Arthur Engoron canceled his business certificates and ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire after being sued by Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking $250 million in damages. The trial will determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty Images)
On Monday, Justice Juan Merchan ruled that Donald Trump’s first criminal trial will take place on April 15 in the former president’s hush money case.
The trial, in which Trump will address a payment he made during the final weeks of the 2016 election to silence porn star Stormy Daniels’ claims of a sexual encounter with him, was originally scheduled to begin on March 25. After federal prosecutors revealed thousands of pages of documents related to the case, however, Merchan agreed to postpone the proceedings.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg agreed to a 30-day delay, though Trump’s lawyers asked for at least 90 days and hoped to have the case dismissed entirely.
Bragg, who brought charges against the former president almost a year ago, alleges that Trump repeatedly falsified records connected to the hush money payment, disguising it in the Trump Organization’s books as legal expenses.
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The Manhattan case is just one of four criminal cases that are currently looming over the former president as he seeks reelection in 2024. The hush money case is currently the only one with a clear start date and may be the only one that goes to trial before the election.
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