Former President Trump is set to appear in a Manhattan court where he will argue for a further delay in his hush money payments trial, which is currently scheduled for April 15. This trial has already been pushed back 30 days due to the discovery of new evidence earlier in March. Trump also faces a Monday deadline to pay a $454 million bond in a civil fraud case brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Judge Juan Merchan will decide on the final trial date, with Trump’s team arguing that more time is needed to review the new evidence and accusing prosecutors of violating discovery rules.
Prosecutors with Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office are urging the judge to deny Trump’s request for additional delays, claiming that Trump’s team is attempting to prolong the trial as much as possible to push his legal battles past the November election. They argue that the late arrival of potentially relevant evidence from sources outside of their control should not result in extreme sanctions. The new evidence consists of 15,000 records produced by the Justice Department relating to the investigation of Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who is a key witness in the hush money case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has stated that much of this material is unrelated to the state case against Trump.
In the civil fraud case brought by the state attorney general’s office, Monday marks the end of the 30-day grace period during which Trump was given to post a $454 million appeal bond. If he fails to do so, Attorney General James can enforce the trial court’s judgment against the former president and begin seizing his property and assets. Trump is accused in this case of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The defense argues that the new evidence requires more time for review and alleges that prosecutors received elements of the evidence before the defense, violating discovery rules.
The Trump team’s request for further delays in the hush money payments trial has raised concerns that they are trying to prolong the legal battle in order to push past the November election. Prosecutors maintain that the appropriate remedy for the late arrival of potentially relevant evidence is the brief adjournment already granted, and that there is no need for more extreme sanctions. The new evidence provided by the Justice Department includes 15,000 records related to Michael Cohen’s investigation, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office stating that much of it is not relevant to the state case against Trump. The defense has received a total of 104,000 pages of records, with 74,000 initially going only to Bragg’s office.
In the civil fraud case, Trump faces a deadline to post a $454 million appeal bond by Monday. Failure to do so could result in Attorney General James enforcing the trial court’s judgment against him and beginning to seize his assets. The charges in this case relate to falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. The judge will hold a hearing on Monday to determine the final trial date for the hush money payments case, with Trump’s team arguing that more time is needed to review the new evidence and accusing prosecutors of violating discovery rules.
