Judge Delays Start of Trump’s New York Hush Money Trial
JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN DELAYED THE TRIAL BY 30 DAYS DUE TO DISCOVERY ISSUES
Judge Juan Merchan delays trial start due to discovery concerns
The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money case has delayed the start of the trial from its original March 25 start date, due to discovery issues raised by the defense.
Judge Juan Merchan ruled Friday that trial will be delayed by 30 days. He scheduled a hearing for March 25 to address the discovery concerns.
Defense seeks additional time for evidence review
Lawyers for Trump were seeking to delay the start of the trial in order to allow them to review tens of thousands of pages of potential evidence recently disclosed by the Justice Department.
Significant questions of fact to be resolved
Merchan, in his ruling Friday, said “there are significant questions of fact” he must resolve before he decides whether the Manhattan district attorney flouted its obligations to disclose potential evidence, as alleged by the defense.
Prosecution proposes delayed trial to review new materials
On Thursday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office proposed a delay of up to 30 days to give the parties time to review newly disclosed material related to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
Trump’s attorneys were seeking an even longer delay.
Defense calls for trial dismissal
“[T]hirty days is not sufficient given the volume of recently produced materials and the nature of the ongoing disputes,” Trump attorney Todd Blanche said in a letter to Judge Merchan. “Therefore, we respectfully request that the Court schedule a hearing on the pending discovery motion and the scheduling of a trial date, should one be necessary, at a time that is convenient to Your Honor during the week of March 25.”
Indictment and jury selection to proceed
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment that Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 presidential election. In seeking the delay, the defense also repeated its insistence that the indictment must be dismissed.
Jury selection for the trial is currently scheduled to get underway March 25 in New York City. The former president has denied all wrongdoing.
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