Former President Donald Trump is currently in court for a hearing in the hush money case against him. Judge Juan Merchan is expected to set a date for the trial to begin. Initially scheduled to commence on this date, the trial was granted a 30-day delay by Merchan. This extension was to allow Trump’s legal team ample time to review documents obtained from the prosecution of key witness Michael Cohen by federal prosecutors.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has urged Merchan not to further delay the trial, arguing that only a fraction of the 170,000 documents turned over by federal prosecutors are relevant to Trump’s defense.
The district attorney alleges that Trump falsified business records related to $130,000 in hush money paid by Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election. This payment was purportedly made to silence Daniels about her claim of an adulterous affair with Trump, which the former president denies.
Present for Bragg’s office are prosecutors Joshua Steinglass, Matthew Colangelo, Christopher Conroy, and Susan Hoffinger. On Trump’s defense team, lawyers Todd Blanche, Susan Necheles, and Emil Bove are among those in attendance.
