A date for Donald Trump’s first criminal trial could be set Thursday at a pre-trial hearing in the former president’s New York criminal hush money case.
Trump is expected to attend the hearing in downtown Manhattan, where New York state Judge Juan Merchan will hear several motions and could rule on whether the trial will begin on March 25, as originally scheduled, on charges that Trump falsified business records with the intent to conceal illegal conduct connected to his 2016 presidential campaign.
If the judge keeps the date of the trial, it would begin to solidify the former president’s legal calendar that is filling up at the same time that his 2024 campaign is closing in on the Republican nomination for president.
Here’s what to know about the case:
Trump is seeking to dismiss the case or various charges: Trump’s team has made a long-shot motion to dismiss the entire case, claiming Bragg is resurrecting a “zombie” case six years too late to interfere with Trump’s 2024 presidential bid.
How we got here: The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office officially launched its investigation into the alleged hush-money schemes under the previous district attorney, Cy Vance, in August 2018, the same day Cohen pleaded guilty to charges related to the Daniels payments across the street in a Manhattan federal courtroom. A grand jury empaneled on January 23, 2023, ultimately returned the 34-count indictment in the hush-money case on March 30.
Trump’s first trial could begin next month: Merchan set the initial March 25 trial date last year, but he said they could “make any necessary” changes if there are any “actual conflicts” – a nod to the federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
