By Michael R. Sisak | Associated Press
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors said Thursday they are open to delaying the start of Donald Trump’s New York hush-money criminal trial by up to a month to give the former president’s lawyers time to review evidence that was only recently turned over.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a court filing that it’s not opposed to adjourning the start of the trial for up to 30 days. Jury selection in the trial is scheduled to begin March 25.
Trump’s lawyers are seeking an 90-day delay or the dismissal of charges against Trump, alleging violations of what’s known as the discovery process, where the sides exchange evidence. The new records came from the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which previously investigated the hush-money arrangement at the heart of Trump’s New York criminal case.
The defense has also sought to delay the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s 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.
The judge in the hush-money case, Juan Manuel Merchan, has yet to rule on either request.
Since March 4, Trump’s lawyers have received at least 84,000 pages of records from the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan, including a batch of 31,000 pages on Wednesday, according to a court filing.
The records pertain to a federal investigation that touched on the hush-money matter and led to prison time for former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
Federal prosecutors in 2018 charged Cohen with campaign finance violations related to the hush-money payments, with evading taxes related to his investments in the taxi industry and with lying to Congress.
Cohen, who blamed Trump for his legal problems, pleaded guilty and served about a year in prison before being released to home confinement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is now a key prosecution witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s case. Trump and his lawyers have portrayed Cohen as completely untrustworthy.