Former President Donald Trump is expected to have a judge confirm his trial date in a New York courtroom on Thursday. first criminal casecurrently scheduled for next month.
At the hearing, state Judge Juan Mercan will first rule on several long-running motions to dismiss the case based on allegations that Trump falsified business records to cover up hush money payments to the adult movie star. Stormy Daniels During the 2016 presidential elections.
Trump’s faces 34 criminal charges In a lawsuit brought nearly a year ago by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
The case was the first of the current ones four criminal cases Trump faced charges, the first time any former president has been indicted. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all four cases and has claimed they were all part of a political “witch hunt” designed to damage his 2024 bid for the White House.
Merchan had already scheduled a trial for March 25, but that date was thrown into question after the judge set the trial. Trump’s fAllegation of interference in the general election March 4 in Washington. That judge, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, made it clear that she He spoke with Merchan about rescheduling the New York business before doing so.
Merchan, however, never formally rescheduled the case, and now that the election interference trial is on hold, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to hear Trump’s claim that presidential immunity shields him from charges in the case.
Another federal criminal case implicates Trump mishandling of national security information and tried to hide classified documents from the government, is set to go on trial in May, but Judge Aileen Cannon is expected to push back that date due to complaints from Trump’s lawyers about the amount of evidence they have. overview.
Fourth criminal case, state Racketeering in Georgia Trump has yet to have a trial date for allegedly conspiring to illegally overturn the state’s 2020 election results. Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis’ office asked the judge to set the date for August.
A judge in the Fulton County case is holding a hearing Thursday on the lawsuit filed by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman. Disqualify Willis and denying the charges, demanding that Trump join.
In the New York case, Trump asked Merchan to dismiss the criminal charges on various grounds, including a claim that he was the victim of “election harassment.”
Grand jury He accused Trump in 34 criminal cases last March. All the calculations are related to payments made by Trump to pay off his former lawyer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 he paid Daniels Staying silent on her alleged 2006 sexual relationship with Trump during the 2016 election.
Trump has denied sleeping with Daniels, but he has admitted paying Cohen. His lawyers said he signed off on the payments, which were listed as legal fees on the company’s books, because he did not want to upset his wife by making the allegations public.
The DA said the real reason Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records” was to “withhold damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”
Falsifying business records in the first degree is a Class E felony in New York. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, which in most cases will run concurrently. Legal analysts said it was unlikely Trump would serve any prison time, but not everyone agreed.
“The actual charges are felonies. Of course, jail time is possible,” said Shan Wu, a former federal prosecutor who is now a white-collar defense attorney. “The court is too high.”