New: Trump Hush Money Trial Scheduled for April 15, But ...

1:00 PM · March 25, 2024

Excerpt CNN cnn.com

Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial on hush money-related charges will begin on April 15 with jury selection, Judge Juan Merchan ruled Monday. ...

Merchan, however, is giving Trump's lawyers the opportunity to file a motion seeking to delay the trial based on pre-trial publicity concerns and will give the New York district attorney one week to respond.

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Author Commentary

Ed Morrissey Mar 25, 2024 1:00 PM ET

Trump's attorneys wanted an outright dismissal or at least a longer continuance based on alleged discovery violations, so they didn't get much today out of Merchan. It seems unlikely that the court will be sympathetic to pre-trial publicity concerns, given Trump's penchant for airing his own views publicly about this and his other cases. All of this is smart lawyering, though, in case appeals are needed down the road. This case is so convoluted that an appeals court will likely look at it with disfavor even if a hostile jury sticks it to Trump in the end.