Former President Donald Trump is set to make an appearance at a crucial court hearing on Monday in Manhattan, just weeks before his criminal trial is slated to begin — a historic event in U.S. legal history.
The trial, originally planned to commence on Monday, revolves around allegations of falsified business records related to reimbursements for a "hush money" payment to an adult film star, as stated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. However, the proceedings were disrupted in early March when new evidence pertinent to the case was shared with both parties by the Justice Department. Trump has maintained his innocence in the face of these accusations.
Trump's legal team has requested a trial delay of up to three months or a complete dismissal, claiming that Bragg's office deliberately failed to make sufficient efforts to obtain the documents. Prosecutors countered by stating that they had requested the documents last year, and initially faced refusal from the Justice Department, only for the decision to be reversed following a defense subpoena.
The Justice Department has refrained from providing any comments on the situation.
The more than 100,000 pages of documents that were turned over in early March relate to, among other things, bank records and related emails concerning a Justice Department investigation into Michael Cohen, Trump's former "fixer" and lawyer, according to court filings. Cohen entered a guilty plea to tax evasion in 2018 in the federal case, and is now the key witness against Trump in the New York case.
At Monday's hearing, Merchan said the lawyers will be asked to discuss "significant questions of fact" related to prosecutors' efforts to obtain relevant documents, in order to provide them to Trump's attorneys — a process known as pretrial discovery.
In that order, Merchan set the April 15 trial date, but added, "The court will set the new trial date, if necessary, when it rules on Defendant's motion following the hearing."
