Trump’s first criminal trial set to begin March 25

Former President Donald Trump’s request to dismiss criminal charges in relation to his “hush money” case was recently denied by a New York judge.

Donald Trump’s first criminal trial set to begin March 25 as judge denies bid to dismiss “hush money” case#DonaldTrump #UnitedStates #HushMoney pic.twitter.com/G0pUuEQqRj

— News18 (@CNNnews18) February 15, 2024

President Trump’s trial will be proceeding as scheduled on March 25th, which will be the first trial of any former President in the history of the United States.

CBS News has more on President Trump’s case:

Trump is attending a pretrial hearing in the case, which involves the circumstances surrounding a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016. A grand jury voted to indict Trump on March 30, 2023, charging him with 34 felony counts of falsification of business records. Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. He has repeatedly accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of pursuing the case for political gain.

Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the charges at the beginning of the hearing. “At this point I can inform you that we’re moving ahead with jury selection on March 25,” he told the court. He later said he expected the trial to last about six weeks.

NBC News has more on President Trump’s attorney:

Trump attorney Todd Blanche told the judge that moving ahead with trial on that date would be a “great injustice” given his other legal cases, an argument the judge batted aside. “You knew about this case,” he told Blanche. The lawyer maintained that date would be “election interference” because of the presidential primaries that month.

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Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo noted Blanche had told his office the March 25 date would “minimize disruption” to his client because there are only a few primaries during that time, and called his current stance part of “a continued pattern to evade accountability.”

President Trump currently faces 34 felony charges in this specific case.

The case focuses on allegations that he falsified business records in order to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.

Politico has more information on Trump’s four criminal cases:

In Trump’s New York case, a judge is slated to finalize the timetable for his trial on charges that he falsified business records to cover up an affair with a porn star in the closing weeks of the 2016 election.

In his Washington, D.C., case, the Supreme Court may signal whether it will quickly resolve Trump’s claim that he is “immune” from federal charges stemming from his effort to subvert the 2020 election.

In his Georgia case, where Trump is also facing state charges related to the 2020 election, a judge has scheduled a Thursday hearing to examine an effort by Trump and several co-defendants to disqualify the prosecutors.

And in his Florida case, a judge is weighing Trump’s latest motion to postpone key deadlines — a likely precursor to delaying the May 20 trial on charges of hoarding classified records at his Mar-a-Lago home.

Falsifying business records in the first degree is considered a class E felony in New York.

Each of the charges could carry a maximum of four years in prison.

Many have taken to X to voice their opinions of his case:

So if you were Trump looking at a March 25 trial date for your hush-money criminal trial, on what date would you fire your present counsel and apply for a postponement of the trial b/c you’re seeking new counsel who will need significant time, perhaps a year, to prepare?

— Les Dellow (@DellowL) February 15, 2024

And Democrats claim this is not about election interference.

Trump’s New York Criminal Trial to Begin March 25, Judge Rules https://t.co/y8NRlxsffK via @epochtimes

— Richard Rogers (@Rogersrg1a) February 15, 2024