“A judge on Thursday rejected Donald Trump’s bid to throw out the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal charges against him and said he plans to set a trial date for next month, clearing the way for the first prosecution of a former American president,” the New York Times reports.
“The judge, Juan Merchan, announced the decision at a hearing in a Lower Manhattan courtroom as Mr. Trump looked on from the defense table. The former president’s lawyers objected to the judge’s decision for jury selection to begin on March 25, noting that the six-week trial would conflict with Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.”
Wall Street Journal: “Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Trump, said that his client’s constitutional rights were being violated because the former president isn’t being given enough time to prepare for trial. Blanche said there were 42 primaries and caucuses between March 1 and what he expected to be the end of the New York trial.”
