Trump Slams DA in Stormy Daniels Case, as Bragg Signals Willingness To Delay Start of Trial

President Trump’s hush-money trial, which is scheduled to begin in late March at New York State Supreme Court, could possibly be delayed for a month, if the judge agrees to a new proposal filed on Thursday by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. Mr. Bragg found that “in light of the distinctive circumstances” his office would not be opposed to “a brief adjournment of up to 30 days to permit sufficient time for defendant to review the USAO productions.” He was referring to thousands of pages of new documents federal investigators in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York have been sending over to state prosecutors in the last ten days. Mr. Trump’s defense attorneys had asked the presiding judge to dismiss the case entirely, or to at least delay the trial for 90 days, after they received “approximately 73,000 pages of records” from the Southern District on March 4. Mr. Bragg, who received an additional 31,000 pages of records on Wednesday, responded that he was willing to agree to a 30-day extension. Mr. Trump commented on the development in a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday evening, saying, “This will make Fani and her ‘lover’ look like small potatoes!!!” New York prosecutors are planning to use President Trump’s boastful past writings about his appeal to women in their criminal case against him regarding hush money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels. Getty ImagesHis campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that, “President Trump and his counsel have been consistent and steadfast that this case has no basis in law or fact, and should be dismissed. Today, after conceding serious discovery violations by his office, the Manhattan DA agreed to an adjournment. We will continue to fight to end this Hoax, and all of the other Crooked Joe Biden-directed Witch Hunts, once and for all.” Mr. Bragg charged Mr. Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election. The prosecution alleges that Mr. Trump instructed his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay $130,000 to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels, shortly before the election, to stop her from publicizing a sexual encounter she claims to have had with Mr. Trump. The prosecution further claims that Mr. Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payment through falsified checks and business records, intentionally concealing his alleged crime. Mr. Trump denies the affair and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The highly anticipated trial, the first ever criminal trial of a former president in the history of the United States, had been set to begin with jury selection at the end of this month. Of all the trials Mr. Trump currently faces, it’s the only one with a scheduled start date. Mr. Bragg’s surprising response on Thursday opened the door to a possible delay. In another court filing, released to the public on Thursday, filed on March 8, a Trump defense attorney, Todd Blanche, accused the prosecution of suppressing “voluminous exculpatory evidence” that could help his client’s case, and asked the judge to punish Manhattan prosecutors with sanctions for violating the law. This combination of file photo shows, from left, President Trump, attorney Michael Cohen, and adult film actress Stormy Daniels. AP Photo/File“It is equally clear that the People were aware that the USAO-SDNY possessed additional discoverable materials, including extrinsic evidence of criminal conduct by Cohen that is admissible in connection with defense cross-examination,” Mr. Blanche wrote.The credibility of Cohen, who went to prison for crimes related to the case and has admitted to lying under oath, is expected to be central to the trial. He has turned on his former boss, Mr. Trump, and the two men are now enemies.In its recent court filing, the defense expressed further concern about Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. In a previous motion, filed in February, Mr. Trump’s attorneys asked to dismiss her testimony, writing that the actress “intends to offer false, salacious, and unduly prejudicial testimony relating to President Trump concerning events from 2006 and 2008.” The new records, Mr. Blanche said, raise further questions about Ms. Clifford’s character and her “bias and motive to monetize her status as a witness in this case, and it is extremely problematic with respect to prejudicial pretrial publicity.” The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, after a jury found the Trump Organization guilty in a criminal tax fraud case, December 6, 2022. AP/Julia Nikhinson, fileMs. Clifford has published a book in which she made highly unflattering comments about Mr. Trump. She has also denounced him in national interviews, including on “60 Minutes”, as well as on social media. She also went on a national stripping tour, during which she insulted Mr. Trump. Ms. Clifford makes further critical comments about Mr. Trump in a forthcoming documentary on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service called “Stormy.”Mr. Bragg responded to the defense team’s accusations. He did not concede to any discovery violation. On the contrary, he insisted that his office was in “full compliance…throughout the discovery process.” The 73,000 pages turned over to the defense on March 4, Mr. Bragg wrote, “were largely irrelevant to the subject matter of the case, with the expectation of 172 pages of witness statements.” More importantly, the records from the latest batch “included materials” that his office had “requested from the USAO more than a year ago and that the USAO declined to provide.” Justice Juan Manuel Merchan is presiding over the case and, over the defense’s strong objections, set a March trial date. LinkedInIn 2017, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York began investigating the alleged $130,000 hush-money-payment to Ms. Clifford, after her furtive efforts to publicize her alleged affair, despite having signed a nondisclosure agreement, were discovered by the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Trump could not be charged because he was president at that time. So prosecutors filed charges against his former lawyer, Cohen, who pleaded guilty. As Mr. Bragg began investigating the case against Mr. Trump, he asked the federal prosecutors to share their records with him. It is unclear why they initially declined to provide the Manhattan district attorney with these records. On January 18, Mr. Trump’s defense team subpoenaed federal investigators at the Southern District of New York. In response to the request, the USAO-SDNY has been sending these thousands of pages of records, with another “production” of documents set to arrive next week. Mr. Trump’s team wrote that Mr. Bragg “collected some materials but left others with the federal authorities, in the hope that President Trump would never get them.”Michael Cohen at New York supreme court, October 24, 2023. AP/Stefan Jeremiah, fileMr. Bragg answered that his office “diligently sought the full grand jury record related to Cohen’s finance convictions from the USAO last year, including exculpatory materials,” and that the records they did receive were handed over to the defense team on June 8, 2023. “Despite having access to these records,” the district attorney retorted, “defendant waited until January 18, 2024 to subpoena additional material.” He wrote that prosecutors were prepared to stick to the planned schedule, but were willing to agree to a month-long extension “out of an abundance of caution and to ensure that defendant has sufficient time to review the new materials.”Delaying the trial has to be approved by the presiding judge, Juan Merchan. He told the attorneys at the last pretrial hearing in February that he estimated the trial to last about six weeks. If the judge were to grant a 30-day delay, it would conflict with another case on his schedule, the “We Build the Wall” case against Mr. Trump’s longtime ally and former strategist, Steve Bannon, who is charged with state money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges. That trial is set to start on May 28. Correction: The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, has signaled his willingness to delay the start of the trial involving President Trump and alleged hush money payments. An earlier headline misstated the official who supported delaying the start of the trial.

Trump Slams DA in Stormy Daniels Case, as Bragg Signals Willingness To Delay Start of Trial

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