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Judge delays Trump's hush money trial, citing new evidence

Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan delayed former President Donald Trump's hush-money criminal trial for at least 30 days after a last-minute evidence dump.

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Donald Trump鈥檚 New York聽hush-money criminal trial聽was delayed Friday until at least mid-April as the judge seeks answers about a last-minute evidence dump that the former president鈥檚 lawyers said has hampered their ability to prepare their defense.

Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to a 30-day delay starting Friday and scheduled a hearing for March 25 after Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers complained that they only recently started receiving more than 100,000 pages of documents from a previous federal investigation into the matter.

The trial had been scheduled to start on March 25. The delay means the trial would start no earlier than April 15. Prosecutors had said they wouldn鈥檛 object to a short delay. Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers have requested a three-month delay as well as asking for the case to be thrown out.

In a statement Friday, the Trump campaign continued to argue that the case 鈥渉as no basis in law or fact, and should be dismissed.鈥�

In a letter Friday, Mr. Merchan told Manhattan prosecutors and Mr. Trump鈥檚 defense team that he wanted to assess 鈥渨ho, if anyone, is at fault for the late production of the documents,鈥� whether it hurt either side, and whether any sanctions are warranted.

The judge demanded a timeline of events detailing when the documents were requested and when they were turned over. He also wants all correspondence between the Manhattan district attorney鈥檚 office, which is prosecuting Mr. Trump, and the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office, which previously investigated the matter in 2018.

The Manhattan district attorney鈥檚 office declined comment. Trump lawyer Todd Blanche also declined comment.

Mr. Merchan鈥檚 decision upended what had been on track to be the first of Mr. Trump鈥檚聽four criminal indictments to go to trial. Mr. Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has fought to delay all of his criminal cases, arguing that he shouldn鈥檛 be forced into a courtroom while he should be on the campaign trial.

Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers raised the evidence issue last week, though their court filing wasn鈥檛 made public until Thursday. In their motion, they made multiple requests. Among them, they asked for聽a 90-day delay, which would push the start of the trial into the early summer; that certain witness testimony be precluded; and that Mr. Trump鈥檚 charges be dismissed.

Prosecutors said they were ready to proceed to trial on March 25, but were OK with聽a 30-day adjournment聽鈥漣n an abundance of caution and to ensure that defendant has sufficient time to review the new materials.鈥�

鈥淭rial on this matter is adjourned for 30 days from the date of this letter on consent of the People,鈥� Mr. Merchan wrote, referring to the prosecution. 鈥淭he Court will set the new trial date, if necessary, when it rules on Defendant鈥檚 motion following the hearing.鈥�

Mr. Merchan said his prior directive that the parties, including Mr. Trump, 鈥渘ot engage or otherwise enter into any commitment pending completion of this trial鈥� remains in effect.

Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers said they have received tens of thousands of pages of evidence in the last two weeks from the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office in Manhattan, which investigated the hush money arrangement while Mr.聽Trump was president.

The evidence includes records about former Trump lawyer-turned-prosecution witness Michael Cohen that are 鈥渆xculpatory and favorable to the defense,鈥� Mr.聽Trump鈥檚 lawyers said. Prosecutors said most of the newly turned over material is 鈥渓argely irrelevant to the subject matter of this case,鈥� though some records are pertinent.

The hush money case centers on allegations that Mr.聽Trump falsified his company鈥檚 records to hide the true nature of payments to Mr.聽Cohen, who paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 during the 2016 presidential campaign to suppress her claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with Mr.聽Trump years earlier.

Mr.聽Trump聽pleaded not guilty聽last year to聽34 felony counts聽of falsifying business records and has denied having a sexual encounter with Ms. Daniels. His lawyers argue the payments to Mr. Cohen were legitimate legal expenses and were not part of any cover-up.

Prosecutors contend Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers caused the evidence problem by waiting until Jan. 18 鈥� a mere nine weeks before the scheduled start of jury selection 鈥� to subpoena the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office for the full case file.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg鈥檚 office said it requested the full file last year but the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office only turned over a subset of records. Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers received that material last June and had ample time to seek additional evidence from the federal probe, the district attorney鈥檚 office said.

Short trial delays because of issues with evidence aren鈥檛 unusual, but any delay in a case involving Mr. Trump would be significant, with trial dates in his other criminal cases up in the air and Election Day less than eight months away.

The defense has also sought to delay the trial until after the聽Supreme Court rules on Mr. Trump鈥檚 presidential immunity claims, which his lawyers say could apply to some of the allegations and evidence in the hush money case. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments April 25.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly sought to postpone his criminal trials while he campaigns to retake the White House.

鈥淲e want delays,鈥� Mr. Trump told reporters as he headed into a Feb. 15 hearing in New York. 鈥淥bviously I鈥檓 running for election. How can you run for election if you鈥檙e sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long?鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.