Trump’s First Criminal Trial Is Starting Next Month

Ryan Bort
·2 min read
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Donald Trump’s first criminal trial is slated to begin in March 25.

A Manhattan judge on Thursday rejected Trump’s bid to toss out District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal case accusing the former president of fraudulently paying off a porn star ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Judge Juan Merchan followed up tossing the motion to dismiss the charges by slating the trial to begin with jury selection on March 25. It will be Trump’s first criminal trial during a presidential campaign that has and surely will continue to be dominated by his mountain of legal woes, which include three other criminal indictments — two from the Justice Department and one in Georgia.

Bragg indicted Trump last April on 34 felony counts related to the falsifying of business records with the intent to defraud. Trump allegedly had Michael Cohen, his former fixer who has already served prison time for this role in the scheme, pay off adult film star Stormy Daniels so she would keep quiet ahead of the 2016 election about an alleged affair with Trump. Trump allegedly repaid Cohen for the hush money payment but fraudulently classified the reimbursement as pertaining to legal fees rather than a campaign-related expense.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing while alleging the case is part of a Democratic conspiracy to prevent him from retaking the White House. “Heading to yet another Courthouse in Manhattan on a case that would have never been brought if I wasn’t running for Pres,” he wrote Thursday on Truth Social. “The Biden DOJ has its top person here in charge. Case should have never been brought, there is no crime. They want it before Election – Could have been brought 3 years ago. They waited until Election Period. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

The strength of Bragg’s case against Trump has been widely debated. Rolling Stone reported last year that Trump’s team has told him to be prepared to lose, but some legal experts have called the case the weakest of those Trump is currently facing. One potential issue is that Cohen, a key witness for the government, isn’t exactly seen as reliable.

Bragg’s case is far from the only legal trouble Trump is facing in his home state. He was ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll, whom he sexually assaulted in the ’90s, over $83 million in defamation damages late last month. A few weeks earlier, his high-profile civil fraud trail to determine punishment for the Trump Organization doctoring property valuations to receive more favorable loan terms concluded. The judge in that case, Arthur Engoron, is expected to deliver his judgement by the end of this week. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case, is seeking $370 million in damages.

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