A look at Trump’s busy legal and election calendar
Donald Trump is juggling a busy court and campaign schedule as he defends himself in several criminal cases while also vying for a second term in the White House.
The former president’s criminal hush money trial is expected to start on April 15. He faces charges stemming from his alleged falsification of business records with the intent to conceal illegal conduct connected to his 2016 presidential campaign.
The trial start date in Trump’s classified documents case in Florida had been set for late May, but the judge overseeing that case revisited the timing of the trial during a key hearing on March 1. Judge Aileen Cannon has not yet set a new date for the trial.
Here’s what the former president’s colliding calendar looks like:
Here are where things stand in Trump’s civil fraud case and criminal hush money trial
Former President Donald Trump had a big legal day on Monday where some major movements happened in the civil fraud and hush money cases against him.
Here’s what to know about each case:
Hush money case: Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from reimbursements made to Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen for hush money payments he made before the 2016 election to cover up an alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels. The former president has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair.
During a hearing in New York on Monday, which Trump attended, Judge Juan Merchan said the criminal trial against the former president will begin on April 15 with jury selection. The judge dismissed the Trump’s motion to toss out the indictment altogether or delay the trial further.
Civil fraud case: A New York appeals court ruled Trump must pay a $175 million bond as he appeals the civil fraud judgment against him. He also was given 10 additional days to post the bond.
It’s a major lifeline for the former president, who, along with his adult sons and his company, were fined more than $464 million, which was due today, after Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his co-defendants fraudulently inflated the value of his assets. The ruling staves off the prospect, for now, of New York Attorney General Letitia James seeking to seize the former president’s property to enforce the judgment against him.
Trump attorney says appellate ruling on civil fraud bond is a “great first step” towards reversal of judgment
Donald Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise in a statement said the appellate ruling on the civil fraud bond is a “great first step towards reversal of “baseless and reckless judgment.”
Kise also said Trump looks forward to a “full and fair appellate process” that ends the New York Attorney General’s “abuse of power and tyrannical pursuit” of the Republican presidential candidate.
More on the ruling: A New York appeals court Monday said Trump has to post $175 million in 10 days in order for his appeal of Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling to go forward — giving the former president a lifeline as he faced possible seizure of his prized real estate properties.