Donald Trump is seeking a comeback as the Republican candidate in this year’s election (File)
New York:
The New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s trial for alleged hush-money cover-ups related to an extramarital affair has ordered a postponement of proceedings originally scheduled to begin on March 25.
“With the consent of the people, the trial of this case is postponed 30 days from the date of this letter,” Judge Juan Merchan said in a court filing, which delayed the trial until at least mid-April. .
The letter said a specific date will be set at a hearing on March 25, which will also address the defense team’s complaints about pre-trial disclosure of evidence.
Prosecutors preparing to try Trump said Thursday they would accept a delay of up to 30 days after both sides received a trove of case documents. Trump is the first former U.S. president to face criminal prosecution.
Trump, who is seeking a comeback as the Republican nominee in this year’s election, has been accused of covering up hush-money payments related to his 2016 bid for the White House.
‘hurt me’
“An immediate adjournment is appropriate,” Trump’s legal team wrote in a letter to the judge on Thursday.
But it argued that “given the amount of material recently produced and the nature of the ongoing dispute, thirty days is insufficient.”
Prosecutors say Trump illegally concealed sending money to his longtime aide Michael Cohen to reimburse him for burying reports of Trump’s alleged extramarital sexual relationships with porn star Stormy Daniels and a Playboy model . He denies the accusations.
A New York grand jury indicted Trump in March 2023 over payments to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Trump has previously described the process as a “disgrace.”
“This is a rigged country. This is a rigged city. It’s a disgrace,” he said.
Trump faces four criminal cases as he campaigns to retake the White House, and his legal team has so far failed to delay an actual trial until after the Nov. 5 vote.
Trump has used his legal woes to inflame his supporters and denounce Democratic rival Joe Biden, claiming the charges are “just a way to hurt me in the election.”
Biden and Trump each won enough delegates on Tuesday to clinch their party’s nomination in the 2024 presidential race, all but ensuring a rematch and kicking off one of the longest campaigns in U.S. history.
The results of Tuesday’s four statewide elections, the latest in a months-long march to identify Democratic and Republican standard-bearers, are essentially a foregone conclusion as current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have defeated all major challenger.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
