Judge holds hearing in Trump hush money case as fraud judgment due: Live updates

Source: The Hill

Former President Trump is expected to be back in a New York courtroom Monday as his lawyers battle with the state over new documents turned over in Trump's hush money case.

Monday was supposed to be the day the hush money trial began, but a surprise development has delayed the trial until at least mid-April. Judge Juan Merchan will instead hold a hearing to sort out the blame game over the new documents and mull Trump's contention that an additional delay is warranted.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) charged Trump in the case with 34 counts of falsifying business records over reimbursements to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, who paid porn actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.

Also Monday, Trump faces a major deadline to pay a $454 million judgment in a separate case out of New York, in which he was found liable for fraud. If he fails to pay up, he faces possible seizure of some of his most famous properties.



Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4550048-trump-hush-money-bond-fraud-judgment-live-updates/

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The hearing has just begun and Trump is attending. The judge begins by criticizing the arguments Trump's lawyers have made, saying he won't address them.

And from Twitter:

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Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
At the hush money hearing, Judge Merchan seems to suggest Trump's team deliberately waited to bring up the documents issue -- reminding them that, in February, they asked for the trial to be delayed, but didn't bring up the documents.

"Why didn't you bring any of this to my attention? Why didn't you tell the court or anyone in the courtroom at that time that you had made this request, that it was taking a little longer than you expected?" Merchan asked. "So how come you didn't bring them up?"
@MSNBC

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Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻
@AWeissmann_
TheNY Trump criminal trial update: If a defendant sits on his rights, he cannot then simultaneously say he needs more time to prepare - that is where Judge Merchan is going with this inquiry. ⬇️
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Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
At the hush money hearing, Judge Merchan seems to suggest Trump's team deliberately waited to bring up the documents issue — reminding them that, in February, they asked for the trial to be delayed, but didn't bring up the documents.