A judge in New York has confirmed that the initial criminal trial of Donald Trump is scheduled to begin on the 15th of April in Manhattan, resuming proceedings after they were momentarily deferred due to the emergence of thousands of pages of additional evidence. The announcement was made by Judge Juan Merchan as the former US president observed the proceedings. This ensures that the trial linked to Trump’s alleged secret payment to an adult film actress prior to the 2016 election will likely reach a jury well before the country votes in the November election.
Originally, the trial was to commence on Monday. However, a 30-day postponement was mandated by the judge on the 15th of March at the behest of Alvin Bragg, the District Attorney of Manhattan. This delay was triggered by the submission of fresh documents by federal prosecutors that are related to a distinct probe of Michael Cohen, Trump’s previous attorney, who organised the secret payment and is projected to be a crucial witness for the government at the trial.
Trump, the probable Republican candidate for the November presidential election, left the courtroom soon after the trial date was affirmed, gesturing a thumbs-up to the audience in the front row. Outside the court, he told journalists of his intention to contest the judge’s decision to schedule the trial for the following month. Mr Trump had lobbied for a longer delay, contending that the belated disclosure of this trove of evidence jeopardised his defence.
In his words, “They waited until the election to bring this case, which should have been heard 3½ years ago, thereby preventing me from campaigning. I will appeal.” Additionally, his plea to dismiss the case on account of the supplementary evidence was also denied by the judge. Trump had put forward the argument that the prosecution had displayed general misconduct by not disclosing the documents earlier.
On Monday, the former president won a significant victory in a separate civil fraud lawsuit when a New York appeals court reduced the size of the bond he must post to pause a $454 million judgement while he files an appeal. This verdict, reducing the bond to $175 million (€161.5 million), protects Trump from the hazard of his assets being seized by New York’s attorney general Letitia James, who initiated that case.
The first of four criminal cases that former President Trump is currently facing is all set to go to trial. As he continues his attempts to make a return to the American presidency, Trump navigates a sea of legal tribulations. Yet, the dates for his other criminal trials have not been specified. Trump, the expected nominee for the Republican party presidency, has labelled the prosecution by Mr Bragg as a “witch hunt”, while maintaining his innocence across all four cases.
Almost a year ago, Mr Bragg accuses former President Trump of adjusting numerous business documents to conceal a payoff made to adult movie star, Stormy Daniels; a move to keep her quiet about their supposed affair from ten years earlier. According to allegations, this move was part of a plan to silence any provocative and potentially harmful accusations by Daniels and others, that could potentially jeopardise his 2016 presidential bid.
In 2018, Mr Cohen acknowledged his guilt to federal accusations of tax and campaign finance irregularities concerning these ‘hush-money’ payments. Previously, it was concluded by the prosecutors that Mr Cohen had given the sum of $130,000 to an adult movie actress to silence her about a sexual encounter with Mr Trump which happened ten years prior. Although these transactions were done with Mr Trump’s awareness, he was not prosecuted as per the justice department’s rule that an acting president cannot be prosecuted.
Unveiled in April of last year, a state indictment by Mr Bragg suggested that Trump misrepresented his company’s business records, saying he compensated Mr Cohen for legal services, in an attempt to mask the authentic nature of the ‘hush-money’ payments. – Bloomberg.