Former President Donald Trump is heading to a criminal trial in New York, after a judge set the start date for hearings for April 15, rejecting defense requests for a postponement. The trial, concerning tampering of documents related to election interference, was initially scheduled for March 25.
However, after federal prosecutors provided new documents, the judge agreed to delay the trial until mid-April. Last Monday, despite the defense’s request to postpone the trial for 90 days or even cancel it, the judge maintained the date of April 15, affirming that the accused had had a reasonable period of time to prepare his defense.
Trump’s lawyers had argued that federal prosecutors’ late submission of documents warranted a delay, but New York state prosecutors argued that most of those documents were irrelevant to the trial.
The judge also rejected the defense’s attempts to punish New York prosecutors for the late submission of documents, noting that the defense could have requested the documents sooner.
Donald Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying documents in connection with reimbursements to his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen related to election interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Despite the defense’s attempts to postpone the trial citing the election campaign, the judge kept the April 15 date for the start of jury selection. Trump declared his intention to appeal the decision, denouncing the prosecution as electoral interference. He also claimed he had no problem testifying and denied the accusations against him.
In addition to this trial, Trump faces three other criminal trials, some of which involve charges related to the 2020 presidential election and national security.
