A judge in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan, New York, ordered Friday that the trial be delayed for at least three weeks.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has scheduled a hearing for March 25, the day that the trial was previously supposed to start, and agreed to a 30-day postponement in the alleged hush money case against the former president. The order follows Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg telling the judge Thursday that he would not oppose a delay in order for both sides to review new records released by the United States Attorney’s Office. (RELATED: Judge Denies Trump’s Bid To Dismiss Classified Docs Case Based On Unconstitutional Vagueness)
“As evidenced by Defendant’s most recent letter filed this afternoon, there are significant questions of fact which this Court must resolve before it may rule on Defendant’s motion,” the filing reads. “Therefore, the Court agrees with Defendant that a prompt hearing is required on the pending discovery motion, the circumstances surrounding the document production by the USAO-SDNY and the scheduling of a trial date, if one is necessary.”
Trump’s lawyers previously requested a 90-day delay to review the tens of thousands of pages of documents from the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which has been investigating the case, according to the AP. Trump’s lawyers believe that some of the new evidence is favorable to the defense.
Judge Says Fani Willis Must Ditch Nathan Wade Or Step Aside From Trump Case@DailyCaller https://t.co/IJ6F8vdPj4
— Katelynn Richardson (@katesrichardson) March 15, 2024
The former president asked the judge on Monday to delay the trial until after the Supreme Court decides whether Trump has presidential immunity, which will be decided in another case. Trump was indicted by a grand jury in March 2023 on 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records in relation to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The suit stems from an alleged $130,000 payment that former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sent Daniels to have her not reveal an earlier affair with the former president.
Breaking: Donald Trump’s hush money trial is DELAYED by 30 days, Justice Juan Merchan rules. pic.twitter.com/AKbhgONvi7
— Frank G. Runyeon (@frankrunyeon) March 15, 2024
Trump is also embroiled in another case in Georgia after being indicted in August for allegations that he tried to overturn the 2020 election in the state along with other co-defendants. Six charges in the case were dismissed Wednesday after the judge ruled there was not enough information to pursue them intelligently.
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