Trump Signals Appeal
President Trump said he doesn’t think the case can go to trial in three weeks.“I don’t know that you’re going to have the trial,” he said the press conference.
“I don’t know how you can have a trial like this in the middle of an election, a presidential election, and this is a Biden trial, these are all Biden trials,” he said referring to a former Biden administration Department of Justice attorney now working in the Manhattan DA’s office. “I don’t know that you’re going to have a trial, I think we’re going to get some court rulings.”
Asked if he would testify, he said yes.
“I would have no problem testifying, I did nothing wrong,” he said.
A reporter asked if he would be concerned that a conviction could “cost you the election.”
Trump: Truth Social Not on NYSE Because ‘Treated Too Badly in New York’
President Trump said New York state was going downhill, and cited these recent cases as reasons he would not take Truth Social public on the New York Stock Exchange.“Truth Social is doing very well, it’s hot as a pistol and doing great and going public. And the New York Stock Exchange wants us badly,” he said. “And I told them, we can’t do the New York Stock Exchange, we’re treated too badly in New York.”
“People are the stock exchange are very, very upset about it,” he claimed. “The top person is mortified. They can’t believe it. He said I’m losing business because of New York, because people don’t want to be in New York and go on the New York Stock Exchange.”
Trump Attorney Says Defense Has ‘Tremendous Amount of Information Now’
Defense attorney Todd Blanche said in a press conference after the hearing that holding the trial before election was “completely unfair to President Trump, completely unfair to the American people who are evaluating who they want to be the next president.”“We believe that we have a tremendous amount of information now in our hands,” he added.
President Trump added that he was “being tried for something that’s not even a crime.”
“We have violent criminals that are murdering people, killing people, we have drug dealers that are all over the place and they go free, but they go after Trump when there’s not even a crime,” he said.
Defense Pushes Back on Trial Date
Mr. Blanche argued that the volume of negative publicity would impact jury selection, pushing back on the trial date.Prosecutors argued that the publicity had been exacerbated by President Trump, and was not likely to abate even if the trial was pushed back.
Judge Sets April 15 Trial
The judge said the defense was given a reasonable amount of time to review the material, and set a new trial date.Jury selection will begin April 15, taking place right before Passover.
Judge Finds DA Not Responsible for Late Discovery
Judge Merchan reminded the parties that the hearing is limited to determine what prejudice was suffered by either party and what sanctions, if any, were appropriate.Trump Addresses Fraud Case Ruling
President Trump returned to court after the 45-minute break, addressing a new order in his civil fraud case that had just been issued, lowering his bond requirement from $464 million to $175 million.He criticized New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron for ordering the massive disgorgement figure in the first place, which more than 30 sureties could not agree to fill.
“What [the judge] has done is such a disservice and should never be allowed to happen again. New York state is being battered by his decisions,” President Trump said.
Judge, Defense Disagree on Extent of DA’s Obligations
The judge asked if the defense’s position is that the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) knowingly retained information that should have been handed over.The defense argued that multiple documents requested were communications between the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and USAO, and that prosecutors had agreed to request all of this information, and never turned down these requests.
The judge and defense disagreed on whether it was the prosecutors’ duty to obtain information from the USAO or the FBI that was beneficial to the defense.
The prosecution said they had meetings and calls with the federal authorities multiple times in early January, and at that time had not had the materials either. They said they submitted all this documentation to the court.
Prosecutors said that short of suing the federal agencies, they could not have required them to produce evidence either.
Judge Merchan said there was a “pattern” of the defense interpreting information differently than he reads it, and this has been going on for “several months” now.
Federal Authorities Outside DA’s ‘Control’
The judge said that the defense has accused prosecutors of discovery violations because they have not provided materials under their control, asking for caselaw that puts the FBI or U.S. Attorney offices under the district attorney’s office.Mr. Blanche said that was not what they were arguing. The judge demanded a case that showed a U.S. Attorney under a district attorney’s direction, and Mr. Blanche said he didn’t have one.
Judge Merchan said it was really “disturbing” that he didn’t given the “incredibly” serious allegations the defense has made.
Defense Expects More Evidence Related to Cohen
The judge read from defense filings that argued Michael Cohen was filed entered prosecutors’ offices in March, and then photographs emerged, and on Mr. Cohen’s podcast he displayed a large binder while saying documents like this were given to him and he had been reading through them.Cohen Bank Statements Produced
Prosecutors said the latest batch of documents produced by federal attorneys was sent on March 15, and contained 91,027 emails involving Michael Cohen.Among the email attachments are Mr. Cohen’s bank statements, such as ones created to consummate transactions with an adult actress he allegedly paid off.
The prosecutors said they had only identified two relevant documents in this batch, and they were confirmatory of the indictment and inculpatory.
Todd Blanche, attorney for President Trump, argued that even if it was the case that only two documents were relevant they wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t check.
Judge Asks for Relevant Estimate
The judge pressed the defense for a number of relevant documents received, and wanted to get at how much time they realistically needed to review the evidence before trial.The defense said “thousands,” prompting the judge to ask whether that was in the 2,000 range, or the 20,000 range.
Judge Merchan wanted a real number, even as a ballpark figure.
Judge Asks Defense Why They Didn’t Flag This Earlier
The parties had met mid-February for a status conference, and Judge Merchan asked the defense why they had not brought up the fact that they were still waiting on materials subpoenaed from federal attorneys in January.The defense answered that the process was still ongoing and they did not know whether they would get the materials.
The judge said the defense had argued strenuously for an adjournment during that meeting, yet didn’t bring up the fact that they were waiting to receive these documents.
The defense said they had multiple good-faith bases to argue for more time. They did not know the federal attorneys would produce upwards of 100,000 in response to the request.
Prosecutors argued that the federal attorneys could produce something that 195,000 pages, but only about 300 of it would be relevant.
The defense said they very much disagreed, and are still looking through the most recent batch. They argued they could not simply ignore meetings between the witnesses in this case and the FBI, things related to the 2016 elections.
Judge Merchan said those areas had nothing to do with this case, and he would decide what was relevant. Something related to the Mueller investigation would not come into this case, he said.
The defense said there were emails between Michael Cohen and others received just last week, which involve 1,200 attachments, including multimedia files and attachments that were hundreds of pages long.
The judge pushed back saying the motion was made based on productions early this month.
Trump attorneys argued they couldn’t just take the prosecutors’ word that only a fraction of the discovery was relevant and they needed to review them.
The judge said the number of documents was relevant, and he wanted to get a sense of how much time the defense needed to review it.
Trump Attorney Says New Evidence Coming
An attorney for President Trump said that they were in contact with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York’s office on March 20, and just last night they said they informed both parties they would produce additional documents.They anticipate the new batch will come soon, and do not know how many pages it involves.
Judge Says Defendants Submitted Irrelevant Arguments
The judge said the defense went far afield from the court’s clear instructions to submit the timeline of discovery and related correspondence as evidence.Judge Recaps Discovery Issues
Judge Merchan said it would be a good idea to begin by going over the events that brought the parties to this point, and started by recapping the case.On March 8, the defense filed a motion to dismiss the indictment after receiving the 104,000 pages. They requested an adjournment of trial, accusing the prosecutors of “serious violations” and “widespread misconduct” as part of an effort to improve their position.
The allegations include omitting statements from Michael Cohen, the key witness, that were exculpatory and favorable to the defense, and improperly invoking federal law to do so.
The prosecutors had said they would agree to a 30-day adjournment but were ready for trial. They maintained they had worked in good faith and diligently sought to fulfill discovery obligations.
The defense asked for adjournment until they could collect all the discovery they were entitled to, further arguing that a 30-day postponement would coincide with Passover.
Trump Arrives in Court, Calls Case a ‘Witch Hunt’
President Trump arrived just before 10 a.m., telling press outside the courtroom that this case “is just a witch hunt, just a hoax” before heading inside.Trump: Case Is ‘Rigged’
Former President Donald Trump announced his attendance at today’s hearing on social media, saying this and other legal cases against him have been “rigged.”“All coordinated by the White House and DOJ for purposes of Election Interference,” he wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.
March 25 is also the deadline for President Trump to post the full $454 million bond issued in his civil fraud case in order to stay the execution of judgment, which may include the seizure of Trump buildings, while he appeals the case.
What to Know
President Trump’s first criminal trial was originally set to begin on March 25, but New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan adjourned the trial for 30 days and is instead holding a hearing.The defense has accused the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office of discovery violations and has requested sanctions, including dismissal, after receiving a discovery dump of 104,000 pages less than three weeks before the trial.
The prosecutors argue they had no control over when federal attorneys handed over this material, and that very little of it is new or relevant. The defense argues that they have been after this information since last year and that prosecutors actively tried to prevent the defense from accessing the material.
Justice Merchan is expected to rule on the motion to dismiss shortly and set a new trial date if necessary. If he decides to set an April 25 trial date, President Trump’s first criminal trial would coincide with oral arguments before the Supreme Court on whether he has presidential immunity in criminal cases.