Update on Trump's Hush Money Trial: Insights into the Pre-Trial Hearing

Donald Trump’s first criminal trial was supposed to begin Monday.

Instead, his lawyers will get the chance to argue for a lengthy postponement and even a dismissal of the charges.

Judge Juan Merchan is presiding over a pre-trial hearing in New York on Monday. The hearing will focus on the discovery issues that caused the trial on charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney to be postponed until at least the middle of next month.

Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business documents. These charges are related to the reimbursement of Michael Cohen for hush-money payments made before the 2016 election. The payments were allegedly made to conceal an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump has entered a plea of not guilty and has consistently denied the affair.

If the trial starts in April, it would be the first of Trump’s four criminal trials to begin – and potentially the only one that would occur before the November election.

Here’s what to know:

Why was the trial postponed?

The trial was rescheduled because over 100,000 new documents were provided by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. These documents are linked to the 2018 prosecution of Trump's ex-lawyer Cohen, who plays a crucial role as a witness in the case.

Trump's lawyers believe that the recent information could help prove the former president's innocence. They are requesting a 90-day extension to thoroughly examine the new evidence. This request aligns with Trump's strategy to postpone all four criminal trials until after the November election.

According to Merchan, the trial will be delayed for 30 days from the date of his letter, which was sent on March 15. This means that the earliest the trial could commence is on April 15.

The judge emphasized that the hearing would specifically address the document production from the Southern District of New York. Other issues, like the complaint from Trump’s lawyers about a new documentary on Daniels potentially influencing the jury pool, would not be discussed.

What exactly are these documents?

The documents I have are connected to the 2018 federal investigation on Cohen. This investigation resulted in charges for campaign finance violations and tax evasion.

Most of the documents consist of records used to get search warrants for Cohen’s devices and homes, such as bank records. Additionally, the US attorney’s office provided 30,000 pages of documents taken from five iPhones and email accounts linked to Cohen.

Prosecutors also mentioned that the US attorney’s office provided FBI interview notes from special counsel Robert Mueller’s discussions with Cohen. These notes were received in December after Freedom of Information Act litigation.

This month, over 200,000 pages of records were delivered in total.

Trump's attorneys and prosecutors are blaming each other for the delay in turning over tens of thousands of documents to the US attorney's office.

Trump’s team claimed that the district attorney was attempting to conceal important evidence before the trial, and only provided it after being subpoenaed by Trump's attorneys in January.

However, the district attorney refutes this accusation and places the blame on Trump’s attorneys for the delay. Prosecutors argue that Trump’s legal team did not raise any concerns about document production in July 2023 until six months later when they issued the subpoena in January.

Prosecutors explained that the delay in recent productions was caused by the defendant's own decision to identify perceived deficiencies in the People's disclosures and seek independent means to obtain the evidence.

It is unlikely that the indictment will be dismissed, as previous motions for dismissal have already been rejected by Merchan.

However, on Monday, the judge may indicate whether he believes the delay he implemented is sufficient to review the new documents and whether he will prevent any testimony from being given.

Merchan has decided that Cohen can testify, despite Trump's objections about his credibility. Additionally, he has also approved Daniels to give her testimony, as she is relevant to the timeline.

The trial is anticipated to run for six weeks, with Trump attending court four days a week. Please note that the court will not be in session on Wednesdays.

Editor's P/S:

The upcoming criminal trial against former President Donald Trump, scheduled to commence on Monday, has been postponed due to a substantial disclosure of new documents by the US Attorney's Office. These documents, related to the 2018 prosecution of Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, have prompted Trump's defense team to request a 90-day extension to examine the evidence thoroughly. The trial, which involves charges of falsifying business documents, is expected to run for six weeks upon its commencement.

This recent development highlights the ongoing legal challenges faced by Trump, who is currently facing four criminal trials. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office alleges that Trump falsified business documents to conceal hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. The defense team, however, believes the newly disclosed documents may support Trump's innocence. The trial postponement underscores the complexities of the case and the potential impact of new evidence on the proceedings.