Donald Trump’s first criminal trial was scheduled to begin on Monday, but instead, his lawyers will argue for a postponement or dismissal of charges related to hush money payments made before the 2016 election. Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business documents in connection with the repayment of his former lawyer Michael Cohen for the payments. The trial has been delayed until at least mid-April, potentially making it the only one of Trump’s four criminal trials to occur before the November election.
The trial postponement was ordered due to the turnover of more than 100,000 new documents related to the 2018 prosecution of Trump’s former lawyer Cohen, who is a key witness in the case. Trump’s lawyers claim the new information could be exculpatory and they need at least 90 days to review it properly. The trial could possibly start on April 15, as per Judge Juan Merchan’s letter. The hearing will focus solely on the document production from the Southern District of New York and not other issues raised by Trump’s lawyers.
The documents in question are related to the 2018 federal investigation of Cohen for campaign finance violations and tax evasion. These documents include records for search warrants, bank records, and FBI interview notes from special counsel Robert Mueller’s interviews with Cohen. Prosecutors turned over more than 200,000 pages of records this month. Trump’s attorneys and prosecutors are currently blaming each other for the delay in turning over the documents, with Trump’s team alleging that the district attorney was trying to hide evidence and prosecutors arguing that the delay was due to Trump’s attorneys not raising any issues until a January subpoena.
Efforts to dismiss the indictment are likely a long shot, as Merchan has previously rejected motions for dismissal. The judge could indicate on Monday whether he believes the delay is sufficient to review the new documents and potentially block any testimony. Merchan has ruled that testimony from Cohen and Stormy Daniels, the adult film star involved, will be allowed in the trial. The trial is expected to last six weeks, with Trump possibly in the courtroom four days a week during that time.
In summary, the trial of Donald Trump for falsifying business documents related to hush money payments has been postponed, with a hearing scheduled for Monday to discuss the discovery issues that led to the delay. The trial, if it starts in April, would be the first of Trump’s four criminal trials to begin and may be the only one to occur before the November election. The document turnover related to the 2018 investigation of Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen has resulted in an argument between Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors over the cause of the delay. Efforts to dismiss the indictment are underway, but the judge is expected to rule on the delay and potential testimonies on Monday.
