Trump Hush Money Trial to Begin April 15, Judge Rules, Denying Motion to Delay

The judge overseeing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money case against former President Trump has rejected Trump’s request for further trial delay, announcing that the trial will commence next month.

Trump attended a lengthy hearing in a New York City courtroom concerning Bragg’s case and pleaded not guilty to all charges arising from the district attorney’s extensive investigation last year.

Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump’s motion for trial delay and scheduled the trial to begin on April 15.

Originally set to start on March 25 with jury selection, the trial was postponed earlier this month by Merchan to mid-April to allow Trump and his legal team more time to review 15,000 records potentially relevant to the case, shared by the Justice Department from a prior federal investigation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York noted that much of the newly produced material is unrelated to the state’s case against Trump. Federal prosecutors have provided over 100,000 pages of records for examination. However, it was revealed that initially, at least 74,000 pages of records were sent solely to Bragg’s office and not to Trump’s legal team.

Trump’s attorneys sought a 90-day delay or dismissal of charges, citing alleged violations in the discovery process, where both parties exchange evidence. They argued that a 30-day delay was inadequate.

Trump’s legal team emphasized the importance of materials from the federal investigation for his defense in Bragg’s state case.

Bragg has indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, to which Trump has pleaded not guilty.

Bragg alleged that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct and hide damaging information from the public during the 2016 presidential election.”

These charges stem from alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York decided not to prosecute Trump regarding payments made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.

Additionally, the Federal Election Commission closed its investigation into the matter in 2021.