A judge in New York has delayed former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial there until mid-April to allow Trump’s review of new records that could be related to the case.
Jury selection had been scheduled to begin March 25. The New York case is still set to be the first of the four criminal cases against Trump to go to trial. The others have been in limbo due to multiple motions and other delays from Trump’s lawyers.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s legal team said in a court filing on Thursday that it would not oppose a 30-day delay to give Trump’s team time to review 31,000 records recently provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
What the case is about
Trump faces a 34-count felony indictment alleging that he falsified New York business records in order to conceal damaging information ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
At the center of the trial are 11 “hush money” payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels who, at the time Trump was first running for president, threatened to go public with accusations she’d had an affair with him not long after he married Melania Trump.
What’s at stake
The fact of the payments and the false records isn’t in dispute. What Bragg is trying to prove is that Trump made them in order to further other crimes, such as violating campaign finance law and mischaracterizing the payments for tax purposes.
The trial, once it begins, is expected to last about six weeks. Trump has vowed to continue campaigning during that time.
This would be the first criminal trial against a former or sitting president.
Where the other cases stand
As for the other Trump cases, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on April 25 about whether the former president is immune from prosecution for events related to Jan. 6. The court’s decision there could determine the fate of multiple cases against him.
In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been allowed to remain on the case after an attempt to remove her — but the challenge set that trial back as well.
In Florida, Judge Aileen Cannon refused to dismiss charges that Trump unlawfully withheld classified documents after leaving office. She has not set a date for trial. Prosecutors want it to begin in July, and Trump wants to delay it until next year, after the presidential election.
Transcript:
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
A judge in New York has delayed former President Trump’s criminal trial until mid-April. That’s in order to allow a review of new records that could be related to the case. This is the case to do with so-called hush money payments to an adult film actor. Jury selection in the trial was scheduled to begin March 25. Joining me now to discuss is NPR political reporter Ximena Bustillo. Hey there, Ximena.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Hey there.
KELLY: OK. So help me understand – what exactly did the judge say today?
BUSTILLO: The judge said that, quote, “there are significant questions of the fact which this court must resolve before it may rule on” Trump’s motion. A hearing will still take place on March 25, the original day that the trial was expected to kick off – jury selection. And the court will set that new trial date following the hearing.
For now, we know that the delay will last around 30 days as of today, placing a potential soonest start by mid-April. This comes after recent disclosure of more than 100,000 pages of records that could be related to this case were opened. And that original motion was – you know, Trump wanted originally 90 days to go through all these documents. They only got a fraction of that.
KELLY: Yeah. I mean, I don’t need to tell you, this was the only one of Trump’s four criminal cases that looked actually set to get underway. So tell me a little bit more about what prompted this decision and today.
BUSTILLO: Yes, we were really close to starting trial. Jury selection was scheduled to barely begin. But yesterday, prosecutors in Manhattan said that they were open to a 30-day delay, not the 90-day that Trump’s lawyers wanted, but still a delay to allow for this review of new records. District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s legal team said in a court filing that they would not oppose – were not opposed to giving Trump’s team up to 30 days to review 31,000 records recently provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with the expectation that more will come next week. They said that they are prepared to move forward with the trial on March 25, but a delay would provide a, quote, “abundance of caution and ensure that Trump’s legal team had sufficient time to review the new materials as well.”
KELLY: Wow, 31,000 records and the expectation that more may come next week. OK. Step back and just remind everybody of the stakes of this particular case.
BUSTILLO: Well, Trump here faces a 34-count felony indictment alleging that he falsified New York business records in order to conceal damaging information to influence the 2016 presidential election. The trial, including jury selection, is expected to last about six weeks once it begins, even as Trump campaigns to be president once again. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. And at the center of this trial are 11, quote, “hush money payments” to adult film actor Stormy Daniels, who at the time Trump was first running for president, threatened to go public with accusations that she’d had an affair with him not long after he married Melania Trump.
This would be the first criminal trial against a former or sitting president, so kind of a historic moment. And the fact of the payments and the false records isn’t in dispute here. What Bragg has to prove is that Trump made them in order to further other crimes, such as violating campaign finance law and mischaracterizing the payments for tax purposes. Should the trial start on time, a decision could come by summer of this year.
KELLY: We got about 30 seconds left. How does this fit in with the other Trump cases?
BUSTILLO: Well, in all, Trump faces 88 federal and state charges. Trump’s other major trials related to his role in the January 6 Capitol insurrection and his handling of classified documents and alleged election interference in Georgia are all in various stages of delay. And it’s unlikely that a verdict in any of them will come any time before the election.
KELLY: All right. That is NPR’s Ximena Bustillo. And again, the headline – a judge in New York has just delayed a criminal trial there until mid-April, at least. Thanks, Ximena.
BUSTILLO: Thank you.
