Former President Donald Trump arrived in court Thursday for a consequential hearing in his Manhattan criminal case, which will determine if it will be the first of his four indictments to go to trial as the judge is set to rule on Trump’s effort to dismiss the case and whether next month’s trial date will hold.
Former President Donald Trump sits inside the courtroom during his arraignment at the Manhattan ... [+]
Trump’s motorcade arrived at the Manhattan courthouse before the hearing was set to get underway at 9:30 a.m., multiple outlets report, and the ex-president said on Truth Social he was heading to court for “a case that would have never been brought if I wasn’t running for Pres [sic],” claiming “there is no crime.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump in state court on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, stemming from “hush-money” payments made during Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Judge Juan Merchan is expected to consider a range of motions at the hearing Thursday, including Trump’s motions to dismiss the case.
Trump is trying to have the case thrown out for a variety of reasons, such as that the charges were brought too late; the charges are “legally defective” because the records in question were personal, not business records; there’s no evidence showing Trump had intent to defraud; and because Trump claims he was “impermissibly targeted for prosecution.”
Prosecutors have rebutted Trump’s arguments, alleging the charges are “legally valid” and Trump’s claims about being selectively targeted for prosecution are “meritless,” and described Trump’s motions to dismiss as “mischaracteriz[ing]
the factual record and disregard[ing] controlling law.”Merchan is also expected to rule on whether the case will go to trial on March 25 as scheduled.
Trump is expected to be in court in Manhattan Thursday, and the Associated Press reports Merchan could rule on Trump’s motions at the hearing. If the March 25 trial date holds, it will be the first time Trump will go to trial in the criminal cases against him, as a previous March 4 trial date in the ex-president’s federal case for trying to overturn the 2020 election was delayed. The 34 counts against Trump could result in up to $170,000 in fines and 136 years in prison if he were convicted on every count and given the maximum sentence, but legal experts believe it’s unlikely Trump would be sentenced to prison in this case as a first-time offender.
The Manhattan hearing will be one of two playing out for Trump on Thursday, as a judge in Fulton County, Georgia, will also be simultaneously holding a hearing in the criminal case against Trump and his allies for trying to overturn the 2020 election. That hearing will center on allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and whether she should be disqualified from the case over a romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, which defendants claim constitutes a conflict of interest.
Trump became the first ex-president to ever be indicted on criminal charges when Bragg’s office indicted him in March 2023. The indictment centers on multiple alleged “hush-money” scandals, as Trump allegedly reimbursed ex-attorney Michael Cohen $130,000 for payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged affair she had with Trump in 2006. The payments were allegedly made monthly and concealed as legal payments, including through the Trump Organization. The indictment also mentions other alleged payments, claiming Cohen spoke with Trump about reimbursing American Media CEO David Pecker for paying $150,000 to “catch and kill” a story involving another woman alleging a relationship with Trump, Karen McDougal, and the suppression of a false story claiming Trump had a child out of wedlock with a former employee. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, which come after Cohen was already convicted for his role in the alleged scheme. Thursday’s hearing marks the first time Trump has appeared in court in the case since he was arraigned in April.
A Guide to Thursday’s Hearing on Trump’s Motion to Dismiss the Manhattan Prosecution (Just Security)
What To Know About The Three Hush-Money Scandals In Trump’s Indictment (Forbes)
Trump Indictment: Here Are The Criminal Charges Trump Is Facing (Forbes)