A crucial hearing is set to take place in New York on Monday regarding Donald Trump's hush money case. The former president's trial, which was initially scheduled to begin with jury selection, has been postponed due to a recent document disclosure. Trump is facing charges of falsifying business records in an alleged attempt to protect his 2016 campaign.
Trump's lawyers are arguing for the dismissal of the case or a three-month delay, citing the delayed disclosures as a reason. On the other hand, prosecutors claim that the new material in the documents does not warrant further delay. The judge overseeing the case has summoned both parties to court to evaluate the situation and determine the next steps.
The case revolves around allegations that Trump falsely recorded $130,000 in payments as legal fees to cover up his involvement in a payment made to porn actor Stormy Daniels. Trump's lawyers maintain that the payments to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, were legitimate legal expenses and not part of a cover-up.
Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 related to the Daniels payoff, is now a key witness in the case against Trump. Trump's legal team claims that they received over 100,000 pages of materials from a federal investigation into Cohen, some of which they believe are favorable to the defense.
Prosecutors argue that the majority of the new material is irrelevant or duplicative, with only some information being relevant to the case. They assert that Trump's lawyers have ample time to review the relevant material before the trial date in mid-April.
In addition to the hush money case, Trump's lawyers are seeking a delay in the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on his claims of presidential immunity in a separate election interference case in Washington, with arguments scheduled for April 25.
