On Wednesday, a judge turned down former President Donald Trump's request to stop the case that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was bringing against him for reportedly lying in business records.
The trial was supposed to start on April 15, but it was pushed back once. The original start date was March, but a judge granted a delay so that lawyers could look over an unexpected pile of possibly relevant files.
Judge Juan Merchan refused on Wednesday to put off the case until the Supreme Court hears his claims that he is protected from arrest by the president in the election case of special counsel Jack Smith, according to Reuters. There will be oral discussions about that on April 25.
"Defendant had myriad opportunities to raise the claim of presidential immunity well before March 7, 2024," he told us.
When it comes to a payment his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels in 2016, Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. Moreover, he says the case is part of a larger political witch hunt meant to hurt his chances of becoming president in 2024.
At the trial, Cohen, Daniels, and allegedly former Trump staffer Hope Hicks, who was his 2016 campaign press secretary, will all give their evidence.
Trump will probably say bad things about Cohen's trustworthiness. He has already tried to stop Cohen from testifying, saying "he recently committed perjury on the stand and under oath at a civil trial involving President Trump." Based on what he has said in public, it looks like he wants to do it again at this criminal hearing.
The trial was supposed to start on April 15, but it was pushed back once. The original start date was March, but a judge granted a delay so that lawyers could look over an unexpected pile of possibly relevant files.
Judge Juan Merchan refused on Wednesday to put off the case until the Supreme Court hears his claims that he is protected from arrest by the president in the election case of special counsel Jack Smith, according to Reuters. There will be oral discussions about that on April 25.
"Defendant had myriad opportunities to raise the claim of presidential immunity well before March 7, 2024," he told us.
When it comes to a payment his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels in 2016, Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. Moreover, he says the case is part of a larger political witch hunt meant to hurt his chances of becoming president in 2024.
At the trial, Cohen, Daniels, and allegedly former Trump staffer Hope Hicks, who was his 2016 campaign press secretary, will all give their evidence.
Trump will probably say bad things about Cohen's trustworthiness. He has already tried to stop Cohen from testifying, saying "he recently committed perjury on the stand and under oath at a civil trial involving President Trump." Based on what he has said in public, it looks like he wants to do it again at this criminal hearing.
