Former President Donald J. Trump is in a Manhattan courtroom to seek another delay of his criminal trial on charges that he covered up a sex scandal that could have derailed his stunning victory in the 2016 presidential election.
Monday’s hearing to finalize a trial date, in what would be the first criminal prosecution of a former American president, comes as Mr. Trump is racing to stave off a financial crisis arising from a judgment in another case: a $454 million judgment in a civil fraud suit brought by New York’s attorney general.
In the opening minutes of the hearing, the judge overseeing the case, Juan M. Merchan, appeared unsympathetic to Mr. Trump’s arguments that his case should be delayed further because of the release of newly disclosed documents from a related federal investigation. He suggested that Mr. Trump’s lawyers were dragging their feet, and noted that many of the new documents were not relevant to the case.
“This court is of the opinion that there are really not significant facts to be resolved,” Justice Merchan said, a sign that he might be close to finalizing a trial date.
The judge then pressed Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche, on the number of documents the defense thinks are relevant, noting that, “I just want to get a sense of how much time you need.”
One of prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which brought the charges against Mr. Trump, estimated that only about 300 documents were pertinent to the trial. A little taken back, Mr. Blanche consulted with papers on the desk before him, and finally came up with “tens of thousands.” Unsatisfied, the judge said that Mr. Blanche was not answering his questions.
The flurry of activity is unfolding nearly a year to the day after the Manhattan district attorney’s office filed an indictment of Mr. Trump, accusing him of falsifying business records related to a hush-money deal with a porn star, Stormy Daniels.
The trial was to have begun Monday, but Justice Merchan, delayed it until at least April 15, citing the documents from federal prosecutors who had previously investigated Michael D. Cohen, the former president’s longtime fixer, who arranged the hush-money deal and is expected to be a star witness against Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump, casting the disclosure as evidence of prosecutorial misconduct, has asked Justice Merchan to delay the trial 90 days, or throw out the case altogether.
The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, has argued against further delays, saying that the new materials are largely irrelevant or duplicative. The tentative April 15 trial date, Mr. Bragg’s prosecutors said in a court filing Thursday, provides “a more than reasonable amount of time” for Mr. Trump to review the information.
It is unclear whether the judge will set a trial date on Monday or rule later this week. If he sets the case for trial next month, Mr. Trump would for the first time face the prospect of time behind bars.
Here’s what else you need to know about Mr. Trump’s daunting day:
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Mr. Trump’s move to delay underscores Mr. Trump’s long-running effort to stall all his legal entanglements until after the November election, when he hopes to win back the presidency, which would effectively halt the criminal cases against him. And with Mr. Trump’s three other criminal trials mired in delays, the Manhattan case might be the only one to move forward before voters head to the polls.
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The Manhattan case stems from Mr. Cohen’s $130,000 hush-money payment to Ms. Daniels, who had hoped to sell her story of a one-night sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. That payment was made just before the 2016 election. After Mr. Trump became president, he reimbursed Mr. Cohen, and therein lay the crime, prosecutors say. Mr. Trump allowed his family business to falsify internal records, claiming that the reimbursement payments were legal expenses. The cover-up hid the scandal from voters, Mr. Bragg contends, casting it as an election-interference case.
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Mr. Trump’s other criminal cases are proceeding more slowly. Georgia prosecutors are unlikely to reach trial on election interference charges until after the presidential election. In Florida, a May trial on charges of mishandling classified documents is likely to be delayed; the Trump-appointed federal judge has not set a schedule despite holding a hearing to do so. And in Washington, a federal case charging Mr. Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 election awaits the outcome of an April Supreme Court hearing, where the former president’s lawyers will argue that he has absolute immunity from prosecution.
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In the civil fraud case brought by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, Mr. Trump needs to secure a half-billion dollar appeal bond fast. The bond — a promise from a company to cover Mr. Trump’s $454 million judgment if he loses the appeal and fails to pay — would prevent Ms. James from collecting. If Mr. Trump fails to secure the bond, Ms. James can move to freeze his bank accounts and start the complicated process of seizing some of his New York properties. Ms. James afforded Mr. Trump a 30-day grace period that expires Monday.
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It’s not all bad news for Mr. Trump. His social media company is expected to begin trading on the stock market on Monday, potentially boosting his net worth, on paper, by billions. Although he is prohibited from selling the shares for six months, Mr. Trump could find ways around that restriction that enable him to use his stake for the appeal bond.
