A federal judge delayed former United States President Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial until at least mid-April following the release of new documents.
The defendant's lawyers as well as the Manhattan district attorney both sought additional time to review the case after a new batch of documents was revealed. The decision to delay from its original Mar. 25 schedule could push back the timeline of the former president's other criminal cases, including one that focuses on his handling of classified documents.
Trump's Hush Money Trial
The development comes as the Republican businessman has been working to delay as many of his criminal trials as possible as he pursues the presidency. Trump is currently facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, related to an alleged scheme to conceal hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The former president has repeatedly denied the accusations and claimed that the case is politically motivated against him. If the trial continued on its original schedule, it would have been the first criminal trial against a former president in the U.S., according to BBC.
The development comes after a last-minute release of tens of thousands of pages of documents from federal prosecutors. It comes as they are also conducting an investigation into the payments made in 2018. This prompted both parties to seek a last-minute reprieve.
The Republican businessman's legal team requested a 90-day delay, arguing that they need more time to review the documents. Manhattan District Attorney Alan Bragg agreed to give both parties a 30-day delay, which Justice Juan Merchan, who is handling the case, ultimately agreed to.
On the other hand, Trump's lawyers argued that federal prosecutors did not properly turn over the evidence. In Merchan's decision, which was released on Friday, he wrote that there were "significant questions of fact which this court must resolve."
Last-Minute Evidence Dump
The latest announcement follows a contentious back-and-forth between the Manhattan district attorney's office and the former president's legal team. Merchan added that the Court agreed with the defendant that a prompt hearing is required on the pending discovery motion, the circumstances surrounding the document production by the UAE-SDNY, and the scheduling of a trial date, if one is needed, said CNN.
A senior legal analyst with CNN, Elie Honig, said that the decision to delay the trial shows that the judge is concerned about the dispute over document production. He noted that Merchan's letter suggests he is taking the defense allegations seriously.
The Republican businessman's lawyers argued that the new information presented in the case was exculpatory for Trump and damaging to prosecutors' key witness, Michael Cohen. On Friday, federal prosecutors turned over the last batch of roughly 15,000 pages.
This is the latest development in one of the legal challenges that Trump is facing. Another is in Washington and relates to accusations that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results. This particular case was originally scheduled to go to trial this month. However, it was delayed as the former president appealed to the Supreme Court.
Also this week, an Atlanta judge quashed six of the charges against the Republican businessman in his Georgia election interference case. This particular case also lacks a trial date, according to the New York Times.
Related Article: Manhattan DA Asks for Brief Delay in Trump's NYC Trial Due to New Records
