Former US President and billionaire, Donald Trump, initiated a new legal maneuver on Monday, March 11, seeking to postpone his trial regarding alleged hush-money payments to a porn star. Trump’s legal team requested the judge to halt the proceedings until the US Supreme Court renders a decision on his separate bid for presidential immunity.
Trump’s lawyers argued that the trial should be suspended due to the possibility of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office presenting evidence of Trump’s statements made during his presidency. They contended that depending on the Supreme Court’s ruling on the immunity issue, jurors might be precluded from hearing such evidence. The immunity case revolves around whether Trump, now a leading candidate for the Republican party’s presidential nomination, should be shielded from prosecution in his federal 2020 election interference case due to actions he took while in office.
The Manhattan case, which involves Trump’s alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, is scheduled for jury selection on March 25. The District Attorney’s office indicated its intention to present evidence of Trump’s 2018 actions aimed at pressuring his former fixer, Michael Cohen, from cooperating with a federal investigation into $130,000 in hush-money payments made to Daniels.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on Trump’s immunity case on April 25. Regardless of the outcome, the hearing date in April could potentially postpone his related trial on election interference to the following year, presenting a significant advantage to Trump’s legal team.
In the event of Trump’s return to the presidency, he could instruct the Justice Department to dismiss the case currently pending in a federal court in Washington, DC.
Trump, aged 77, has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of felony falsifying business records in connection with the hush-money case.
