Donald Trump received both a lifeline from the courts Monday and a trial date for the first criminal trial of a former president in US history, a pair of rulings that hit home the legal whiplash constantly surrounding him.
The twin rulings Monday, which came roughly within an hour of each other, hit the intersection of challenges to Trump’s image and his famed business empire as he seeks a second term in the White House.
Trump’s historic criminal trial in the New York hush money case against him will begin with jury selection on April 15, Judge Juan Merchan said Monday, after a dispute over the late production of documents caused the judge initially to push back the start date.
For Trump, however, the more significant ruling Monday may have been a New York appeals court allowing him to post a reduced $175 million bond as he appeals the $464 million New York civil fraud judgment against him, his adult sons and his company. Trump told reporters he will cover the bond using cash as a collateral.
Here are the takeaways from another historic day for Trump:
Trump’s hush money trial will begin April 15
Barring another unforeseen hiccup, never something to rule out when Trump is involved, the former president will face a jury on criminal charges for at least one of his trials before the November election
Monday’s hearing was to consider Trump’s motion to dismiss the charges and sanction the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office after the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York turned over tens of thousands of documents earlier this month related to the 2018 federal prosecution of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer.
Before noon, Merchan had already dismissed the allegations from Trump’s attorneys, ruling there were no violations and that the trial will begin with jury selection on April 15.
Trump was charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg with 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from reimbursements to Cohen for hush money payments he made before the 2016 election to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about an alleged affair with Trump. The former president has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair.
The date is three weeks later than originally scheduled, but the delay won’t make much of a dent on Trump’s 2024 calendar – and it’s still murky whether any of his other three trials will happen before the election.