Insights from Donald Trump's eventful legal day

Donald Trump got some good news and some bad news on Monday. The courts gave him a break, but he also got a trial date for the first criminal trial of a former president in US history. These rulings show the legal drama that always seems to follow him.

Both of these rulings came on Monday, almost at the same time. They are important because they touch on challenges to Trump's reputation and his well-known business empire. All of this is happening as he tries to win a second term as President.

Trump's historic criminal trial in the New York hush money case will kick off with jury selection on April 15, according to Judge Juan Merchan. This comes after a delay in the start date due to a disagreement over the timing of document production.

In a significant development for Trump, a New York appeals court granted him permission to post a reduced $175 million bond while he appeals the $464 million civil fraud judgment against him, his adult sons, and his company. Trump mentioned that he plans to use cash as collateral to cover the bond amount.

Here are the takeaways from another historic day for Trump:

Trump’s hush money trial will begin April 15

Barring any unexpected issues, which are not uncommon when it comes to Trump, the former president is expected to go to trial on criminal charges before the November election.

On Monday, there was a hearing to discuss Trump's request to dismiss the charges and penalize the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. This came after the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York handed over thousands of documents linked to the 2018 federal case against Michael Cohen, Trump's ex-lawyer and fixer.

Former President Donald Trump speaks from the hallway outside a courtroom in New York on Monday.

Former President Donald Trump speaks from the hallway outside a courtroom in New York on Monday.

Brendan McDermid/Pool/Reuters

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Merchan dismissed the allegations from Trump's attorneys before noon, ruling that there were no violations. He stated that the trial will commence with jury selection on April 15th.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records. These charges are related to payments made to Michael Cohen for hush money before the 2016 election. The payments were made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about an alleged affair with Trump. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair.

The trial date has been pushed back by three weeks, but this delay is not expected to have a significant impact on Trump's schedule for the 2024 election. It is still uncertain whether any of his other three trials will take place before the election.

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Trump's lawyers stated that he could not afford to pay a $464 million bond to appeal the civil fraud judgement against him. A deadline was set for Monday for Trump to post the bond, otherwise, New York Attorney General Letitia James could have started seizing his property.

But the recent ruling by the appeals court granted Trump an extra 10 days to secure a $175 million bond, a sum that he expressed confidence in being able to raise.

In a separate instance, Trump had already posted a $91 million bond earlier this month as part of his appeal process for the defamation lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll.

This ruling is a big win for Trump as it prevents James from taking his property to enforce the judgement against him, at least for now.

After Trump pays the $175 million bond, the enforcement of the civil fraud judgment against him, his sons, and their company will be on hold until at least September.

The ruling ordered the two sides to prepare briefs for oral argument by then in a New York appellate court.

‘It will be my honor to post,’ Trump says

Trump did not address the court on Wednesday, but he did find opportunities to share his thoughts on Monday's events. The ex-president expressed his reaction to the reduced bond outside the courtroom and later at a press conference held at 40 Wall Street. This building was at risk of being affected if he did not post bond to challenge the civil fraud ruling.

"It will be my pleasure to post," Trump expressed, mentioning that he is willing to post "whatever is needed, whether it's cash, security, or bonds."

When asked by a reporter, Trump clarified that he will use cash as collateral.

At his news conference, the former president expressed his opposition to the plan of starting his criminal trial next month.

During the conference, Trump voiced his concerns, stating, "You have a case which … they’re dying to get this thing started. The judge cannot go faster. He wants to get it started so badly."

Trump's lawyers are trying to postpone all four of his criminal trials to schedule them after the election. The New York trial is scheduled to start in three weeks. The judge handling the hush money case mentioned that the district attorney has put in a lot of effort in a sincere and diligent manner.

During the hearing on Monday, Merchan debunked Trump's claims of misconduct by the district attorney's office. He concluded that prosecutors had actually worked together to obtain documents from the US Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York.

"At one point, Merchan remarked, 'It's strange that we're even here.'"

The judge expressed deep concern over Trump's allegations against Manhattan prosecutors, even raising his voice during the proceedings.

Merchan questioned Trump's accusations, highlighting the seriousness of accusing the Manhattan DA's office and its staff of misconduct without providing any evidence to support such claims.

Merchan was troubled by Trump's lawyers accusing Bragg's office of prosecutorial misconduct without legal support. He found it unsettling that they claimed the district attorney should have obtained documents from the US attorney's office and FBI.

Merchan also criticized Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, who spent 13 years in the US attorney's office, for not requesting the documents sooner after they were produced by the federal agency last summer.

The judge decided that the district attorney’s office was not responsible for the delayed disclosure from federal prosecutors. They also found that the prosecutors had made a sincere and thorough effort to gather all relevant information from the federal prosecutors.

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Trump hasn’t given up his hope to delay the criminal trial

Trump is trying to postpone all four criminal trials until after the November election, just in case they are not completely dismissed.

After Merchan's decision to begin the hush money trial next month, Trump's lawyers tried to find a way to delay the trial even further.

Blanche requested to postpone the trial due to pretrial publicity, citing a documentary about Daniels and the hush money scandal affecting the jury pool and the timing of the 2024 election.

Trump's lawyers claimed that the recent documentary and the publicity surrounding it have prejudiced the potential jurors and that holding the trial close to the election is unfair.

In response, the district attorney's office argued that the defendant is responsible for the pretrial publicity and its impact on the case.

Merchan was doubtful about the claim and wanted to know what had changed since February. He had set the trial date for March 25 and had previously rejected similar arguments. Despite his skepticism, Merchan agreed to let Blanche file the motion and asked about the timeline for filing it.

However, Merchan did not appear to be considering changing the trial date.

“See you all on the 15th,” he said.

Editor's P/S:

The legal proceedings surrounding former President Donald Trump continue to unfold, with both setbacks and victories on Monday. While he faces a criminal trial for hush money payments in April, a New York appeals court has granted him permission to post a reduced bond in a civil fraud case. These rulings highlight the ongoing legal challenges Trump faces, which could potentially impact his political aspirations.

Trump's upcoming criminal trial, scheduled to begin on April 15, is a significant development in American history, as it marks the first time a former president will stand trial on criminal charges. The trial stems from hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Meanwhile, the appeals court's decision to reduce the bond in the civil fraud case is a temporary reprieve for Trump, as it prevents the New York Attorney General from seizing his property. However, the underlying civil fraud judgment against Trump remains in place, and the enforcement of the judgment will be on hold until at least September.