Topline
Former President Donald Trump will go to trial beginning April 15 in his criminal case concerning “hush money” payments made during his 2016 campaign, Judge Juan Merchan ruled Monday—the first of the ex-president’s criminal cases to go to trial—after the trial date was originally pushed back following a last-minute influx of evidence.
Former President Donald Trump leaves the courtroom during a break during a pre-trial hearing in ... [+]
Key Facts
Jury selection in the case will begin on April 15, Merchan ruled Monday during a hearing in the case.
The trial was originally scheduled to begin on March 25, but Merchan, a New York state judge, delayed the trial by 30 days from his ruling in mid-March.
Trump had asked the court to delay the trial and prosecutors agreed, citing a last-minute influx of records sent by federal prosecutors.
Trump had asked for the charges against him to be dismissed altogether, but Merchan disagreed, swatting down claims Trump made that prosecutors acted unlawfully regarding the records.
The former president had also asked for the trial to be delayed by a lengthier 90 days, if the charges were not thrown out entirely.
Trump told reporters Monday he would appeal Merchan’s ruling refusing his motion to dismiss.
What To Watch For
Trump has been indicted on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records in the hush money case, which could result in up to 136 years in prison or $170,000 in fines if he’s convicted on every count, though legal experts believe it’s unlikely Trump will be sentenced to prison as a first-time offender. The trial is expected to last for approximately six weeks once it begins.
Key Background
Trump was indicted in March 2023 in the Manhattan case, which concerns a $130,000 payment ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 campaign, in order to cover up her allegations of an affair with Trump. Prosecutors allege Trump unlawfully reimbursed Cohen for that payment, making a series of payments to Cohen, including through the Trump Organization, that disguised the money as being paid for legal fees. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and has decried the criminal cases against him as “witch hunts” designed to hurt his presidential campaign. Both Daniels and Cohen may testify at the upcoming trial, as Merchan denied Trump’s requests to exclude their testimony earlier in March.
What We Don’t Know
When Trump’s other criminal trials will start. The hush money case is so far the only one of Trump’s criminal trials that has a concrete date, as Trump has sought to delay his criminal trials, and it could be the only case in which there is a verdict before Election Day. Trump’s federal case for trying to overturn the 2020 election is on pause until the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s motion to dismiss the case, which will happen at some point before the court’s term wraps up in late June. Assuming the case proceeds on schedule once the court rules, that means a trial would begin sometime between late July and October, legal experts have speculated, potentially pushing a verdict back until after November. The ex-president’s second federal case, for allegedly mishandling White House documents, remains up in the air after a planned May trial date got delayed, and while prosecutors and Trump have suggested start dates in July or August, it’s unclear if that will be feasible. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ state case against Trump in Georgia over the 2020 election also still does not have a trial date, as the case was temporarily derailed by hearings over whether the prosecutor should be disqualified.
Further Reading
