UPDATED 11:21 A.M.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges tied to hush money paid to a porn star will start on April 15, a judge said on Monday, paving the way for the Republican presidential candidate to either be convicted or cleared before the Nov. 5 election.
The date all but ensures that Trump will become the first-ever former U.S. president to face a criminal trial.
He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment to silence adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says they had a decade earlier – an encounter Trump denies.
Jury selection for the case was initially scheduled to begin on Monday, but Justice Juan Merchan on March 15 delayed it for at least 30 days after Trump’s lawyers accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which brought the charges, of trying to bury documents that could help them challenge Cohen’s credibility.
The documents came from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which previously investigated the payment but did not charge Trump. Cohen testified that Trump directed him to make the payment and went to prison after pleading guilty to violating campaign finance laws.
At a court hearing on Monday in a New York state court in Manhattan, Merchan appeared skeptical of Trump lawyer Todd Blanche’s argument that Bragg’s office engaged in misconduct, and questioned Blanche about why he did not request documents from the U.S. Attorney’s office sooner.
Blanche said at the hearing that the U.S. Attorney’s office said on Sunday that it would be handing over additional documents related to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
The case is one of several legal travails Trump, 77, faces as he ramps up his 2024 campaign to unseat Democratic President Joe Biden.
He faces three other criminal cases, which focus on his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden and his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office in 2021. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In the hush money case, prosecutors say the Daniels payoff was part of a broader “catch-and-kill” scheme Cohen and Trump hatched to boost his candidacy by buying the silence of people with damaging information. Daniels says she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump denies an encounter.
Trump’s lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to benefit his 2016 campaign.
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges of violating campaign finance laws through the payment.
Trump’s defense lawyers in January subpoenaed the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which charged Cohen, for Cohen’s bank records and phone and email accounts in January. Merchan in December denied their request to get some of those materials from Cohen himself.
The federal prosecutors handed over the material during the first two weeks of March.
In pushing Merchan for a delay, Trump’s lawyers said they need more time to review the documents and accused Bragg’s office, which brought the charges, of trying to bury material that they could use to undermine Cohen’s credibility.
Bragg’s office said it asked the federal prosecutors for information from their case against Cohen and turned the materials over to the defense last June. They said no further delay was needed because most of the new documents are irrelevant or duplicates of material Trump already had.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)
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UPDATED: 9:56 A.M.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump’s lawyers sought a delay on Monday in the former president’s New York state criminal trial over hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, disclosing that new federal documents had emerged.
They disclosed the documents at a hearing in a New York courtroom where his lawyers asked a judge to dismiss or delay the trial.
The documents include prior statements Daniels previously made to the FBI, Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche told Justice Juan Merchan. It was not immediately clear how many documents would be handed over.
Merchan began the hearing by reading from the lawyers’ motion accusing prosecutors of deliberately withholding potential evidence about witness Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and lawyer, for too long.
“We are not actively suppressing or suppressing in any way discoverable or otherwise impeachable materials,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said at the hearing.
“This is a witch hunt, This is a hoax,” Trump, wearing a blue suit and his customary red tie, told reporters before the cameras. “Thank you very much, everybody.”
It was all he said before entering the courtroom.
There, he spoke with his lawyer Susan Necheles before the hearing began. He sat with his hands clasped, hunched over the defense table as the hearing began.
His lawyers have argued a delay is needed because prosecutors turned over thousands of pages about Cohen only weeks ago.
Cohen made a $130,000 payment to silence adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she said they had a decade earlier – an encounter Trump denies.
Lawyers for Trump accuse Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which brought the criminal charges, of trying to bury documents that could help them challenge Cohen’s credibility.
The documents came from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which previously investigated the payment but did not charge Trump. Cohen testified that Trump directed him to make the payment and went to prison after pleading guilty to violating campaign finance laws.
Trump’s trial was initially scheduled to start on Monday, but prosecutors consented to a 30-day delay to give Trump time to review the new documents. Trump’s defense is asking Merchan for another delay or for the charges to be thrown out altogether because of the late disclosure.
Merchan’s decision will set the course for what could be the first-ever criminal trial of a former president. Trump, the Republican candidate to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, has pleaded not guilty and called the case a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
On Monday morning, Trump said the case should be dismissed.
“No crime,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The case is one of several legal travails Trump, 77, faces as he ramps up his 2024 campaign. He faces a deadline on Monday to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment for manipulating the values of his real estate holdings to dupe lenders, or risk New York state seizing his properties.
He faces three other criminal cases, which focus on his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden and his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office in 2021. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Trump has sought delays in most cases, and successfully pushed back an early March start date to his federal trial in Washington, D.C., over the 2020 election efforts as he pursued an appeal on presidential immunity grounds. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in that case on April 25.
He has also leveraged his criminal cases to try to raise money from supporters, as he lags Biden in fundraising.
Prosecutors say the payoff to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was part of a broader “catch-and-kill” scheme Cohen and Trump hatched to boost his candidacy by buying the silence of people with damaging information.
Trump’s lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to benefit his successful 2016 campaign.
Defense lawyers subpoenaed federal prosecutors for Cohen’s bank records and phone and email accounts in January, after Merchan denied their request to get some of those materials from Cohen himself.
“They sought to obstruct our efforts to collect evidence we are entitled to review and use in connection with our trial defense,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a Feb. 15 court filing, referring to the state prosecutors.
Prosecutors say no further delay is needed because most of the new documents are irrelevant to the case or duplicates of material Trump already had.
Bragg’s office said it asked the federal prosecutors for information from their case against Cohen and turned the materials over to the defense last June.
“Defendant has taken every possible step to evade accountability in this case,” prosecutors with Bragg’s office wrote in a March 21 court filing. “Enough is enough. These tactics by defendant and defense counsel should be stopped.”
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump will ask a judge on Monday to delay or dismiss his trial on charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star, citing thousands of pages of potential evidence about witness Michael Cohen that prosecutors turned over only weeks ago.
Cohen, Trump’s onetime lawyer and fixer, made a $130,000 payment to silence adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she said they had a decade earlier – an encounter Trump denies.
Lawyers for Trump, the former U.S. president, accuse Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which brought the criminal charges, of trying to bury documents that could help them challenge Cohen’s credibility.
The documents came from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which previously investigated the payment but did not charge Trump. Cohen testified that Trump directed him to make the payment and went to prison after pleading guilty to violating campaign finance laws.
Trump’s trial was initially scheduled to start on Monday, but prosecutors consented to a 30-day delay to give Trump time to review the new documents. Trump’s defense is asking Justice Juan Merchan for another delay or for the charges to be thrown out altogether because of the late disclosure.
Merchan’s decision will set the course for what could be the first-ever criminal trial of a former president. Trump, the Republican candidate to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, has pleaded not guilty and called the case a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
On Monday morning, Trump said the case should be dismissed.
“No crime,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The case is one of several legal travails Trump, 77, faces as he ramps up his 2024 campaign. He faces a deadline on Monday to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment for manipulating the values of his real estate holdings to dupe lenders, or risk New York state seizing his properties.
He faces three other criminal cases, which focus on his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden and his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office in 2021. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Trump has sought delays in most cases, and successfully pushed back an early March start date to his federal trial in Washington, D.C., over the 2020 election efforts as he pursued an appeal on presidential immunity grounds. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in that case on April 25.
He has also leveraged his criminal cases to try to raise money from supporters, as he lags Biden in fundraising.
Prosecutors say the payoff to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was part of a broader “catch-and-kill” scheme Cohen and Trump hatched to boost his candidacy by buying the silence of people with damaging information.
Trump’s lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to benefit his successful 2016 campaign.
Defense lawyers subpoenaed federal prosecutors for Cohen’s bank records and phone and email accounts in January, after Merchan denied their request to get some of those materials from Cohen himself.
“They sought to obstruct our efforts to collect evidence we are entitled to review and use in connection with our trial defense,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a Feb. 15 court filing, referring to the state prosecutors.
Prosecutors say no further delay is needed because most of the new documents are irrelevant to the case or duplicates of material Trump already had.
Bragg’s office said it asked the federal prosecutors for information from their case against Cohen and turned the materials over to the defense last June.
“Defendant has taken every possible step to evade accountability in this case,” prosecutors with Bragg’s office wrote in a March 21 court filing. “Enough is enough. These tactics by defendant and defense counsel should be stopped.”
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)
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