Donald Trump glared at the courtroom and the camera as he arrived at a crucial hearing in the hush money case in Manhattan, with his lawyers demanding it be postponed for months.
The former president has denied a 34-count indictment in connection with falsifying cases recorded in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The 77-year-old sat at the defense table between his lawyers and with his hands folded on a day when two of his biggest legal nightmares collided.
He will likely find out when he faces the first of his four criminal trials and also has just hours to come up with the money to cover the $464 million bail in the New York fraud case.
Judge Juan Merchan will have to decide whether a last-minute document dump from federal prosecutors will delay the case in state court in New York.
Donald Trump has arrived at a crucial hearing in his hush money case, with his lawyers demanding it be postponed for months
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office claims such delays are a “diversion” and part of a “strategic delay.”
Trump walked into the courtroom with a frown and pursed lips after telling reporters outside, “This is a witch hunt.” This is a hoax’. He wore a dark blue suit and a bright red tie.
Ten court security officers and seven Secret Service agents were present in the courtroom, which was packed with more than 60 journalists.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was in the courtroom, sitting in the second row of the public gallery with a brown folder containing two files.
Before his appearance, Trump raged on Truth Social that the fraud penalty should be “zero” and claimed the hush money case should be dismissed because it is “coordinated by the White House.”
He also said he didn’t have to sell his “babies” in his real estate empire because he had done “nothing wrong.”
He walked out of Trump Tower just after 9 a.m. Monday morning without his usual fist bump at waiting photographers and onlookers.
The payment was made just days before the 2016 election and prosecutors allege it amounted to an illegal campaign contribution.
The former president has denied a 34-count indictment in connection with falsifying cases recorded in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The trial was scheduled to begin on March 25 but was postponed until at least mid-April after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan released more than 200,000 pages of evidence from its investigation into Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney.
But the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the hush money case, says only 270 documents — or 31,000 pages — of the material are relevant and that the case should continue next month.
Trump and his lawyers have also attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, for trying to bury information that would damage Cohen’s credibility.
If the trial goes ahead, it will be the first of four criminal cases Trump faces.
The 77-year-old sat at the defense table between his lawyers and with his hands folded on a day when two of his biggest legal nightmares collided
‘This is a witch hunt. This is a hoax’. Trump made a very brief statement before walking into the Manhattan courtroom
He is accused by a Washington court of election interference for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, but the case has been stayed pending a Supreme Court ruling on whether he has immunity.
Trump is facing a trial in Florida for mishandling classified documents, but that is mired in delays and a tentative trial date this summer appears unlikely.
He is also accused of election interference in Georgia, but no date has been set and prosecutors are mired in allegations of improper conduct.
Trump has said he doesn’t have the money to pay, despite claiming to be worth billions of dollars.
Trump leaves his New York property before heading to court in Manhattan for the hearing
The former president did not gesture to fans or photographers, as he usually does, as he walked out onto the street
On Monday, parts of Donald Trump’s real estate empire will be at stake. Jury selection will also begin in Stormy Daniels’ hush money case
One sign read “the emperor has no money,” after Trump’s lawyers said he couldn’t get bail on the $454 million verdict
Trump was expected to be greeted by protesters outside Manhattan Criminal Court
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has already moved to seize Seven Springs, Trump’s golf course and private estate just north of Manhattan.
Trump could get a huge boost if his social media company Truth Social goes public, which could net him $3.5 billion.
But the windfall would only be on paper for at least six months because of laws prohibiting him from selling too quickly.