Trump hush-money trial start date set for 15 April as judge refuses call for delay

Donald Trump suffered another legal defeat on Monday as the judge overseeing his case involving the adult film star Stormy Daniels refused to delay the trial over evidence concerns – and appeared displeased with the former US president’s lawyers’ allegation of prosecutorial misconduct.

“Jury selection in this matter will commence in 21 days, on April 15,” Judge Juan Merchan said in a ruling from the bench. He said shortly thereafter: “defendant has been given a reasonable amount of time to prepare”.

Related: Trump civil fraud case: New York court lowers bond to $175m and gives 10-day deadline

“It’s odd that we’re even here,” Merchan told Todd Blanche earlier in the day, after grilling the Trump attorney on his legal team’s claims, perhaps presaging his decision.

Merchan had scheduled the hearing – which is taking place on the day when Trump’s trial was originally scheduled to start – to determine whether the presumptive Republican presidential candidate’s recent receipt of more than 100,000 pages of discovery documents merited yet another delay. Trump’s team have said they will appeal the new date.

Trump sported a navy suit, red tie, and white shirt when he arrived at Merchan’s courtroom just before 10am, and didn’t have much of an expression on his face. Right before entering the courtroom, he railed about the case, saying in the hall: “This is a witch-hunt and a hoax.”

Trump’s lawyers had asked Merchan to delay the trial at least 90 days, or dismiss it, over what they called “violations” in the discovery process – that is, they claim Manhattan state prosecutors did not follow legal requirements to disclose evidence to them in a timely manner.

The office of the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, which had previously agreed to a month-long postponement so that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee could review the documents, insisted that still more postponement is not necessary.

The prosecutors contended that they had followed with discovery law, determined that the minimal amount of relevant documents were “inculpatory” and that Trump’s lawyers were responsible for the delay.

The documents related to federal prosecutors’ investigation of Michael Cohen, Trump’s one-time consigliere turned prosecution witness. Several US attorney’s offices had the documents in question, not the Manhattan DA. Manhattan state prosecutors had turned over many documents from Cohen’s federal proceedings to Trump’s team; the disclosures relate to some documents that had not been given to Bragg’s office.

Trump, prosecutors said, shuffled hundreds of thousands of dollars to Cohen as part of his effort to cover up allegations of extramarital affairs, and then listed the payouts as legal costs in his business records. In April 2023, prosecutors charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records, a class E felony.

Bragg’s office said that Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels and coordinated with the National Enquirer’s publisher to give the former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000, to thwart their accounts of sexual encounters with Trump, which he denies. Trump’s namesake company then repaid Cohen $420,000 in a handful of installments, prosecutors said.

Trump’s camp cried foul over having received these documents only recently.

“The People have engaged in widespread misconduct as part of a desperate effort to improve their position at the potential trial on the false and unsupported charges in the Indictment,” Trump’s lawyers argued in court filings.

They insisted that these documents, which were generated during Manhattan federal prosecutors’ investigation into hush-money payments, included “reports relating to statements by Cohen that are exculpatory and favorable to the defense”.

Prosecutors wrote in court papers that Trump’s lawyers waited until January to make requests for additional Michael Cohen-related documents from federal prosecutors, writing: “The belated nature of the recent USAO productions is entirely a result of defendant’s own inexplicable and strategic delay in identifying perceived deficiencies.”

During the proceeding, Merchan hammered Blanche on discovery law, asking why he thought Bragg’s office could be at fault for the feds’ recent disclosure. While local prosecutors must share evidence that is considered in their possession – for example, items gathered by their respective locality’s police – evidence in federal authorities’ control is not considered under local prosecutors’ possession.

Merchan asked Blanche whether he agreed that established law applied in this circumstance.

Blanche did not give a direct answer initially.

“Your honor, with the caveat that we put in our papers –” Blanche said.

“I’m asking about the statute,” Merchan interjected. “I’m asking about the statute and case law.”

Blanche tried again with a “your honor”, but Merchan pressed on.

“Can you give me a single case?” Merchan said, asking whether there was any prior ruling showing that a district attorney had power over the feds’ evidence.

Blanche said he did not have any case like that.

“That you don’t have a case right now is really disconcerting because the allegations that the defense makes in all of your papers about prosecutors’ misconduct is incredibly serious – unbelievably serious.

“You’re literally accusing the Manhattan DA’s office, and the people assigned to this case, of prosecutorial misconduct and [of] trying to make me complicit in it and you don’t have a single cite to support [your] position.”

Merchan told the court shortly thereafter that there would be a 45-minute break. After the court resumed, Merchan issued his ruling from the bench.

“The district attorney of New York county is not at fault for the late production of documents from the US attorney’s office,” Merchan said. “The court finds that the people have complied and continue to comply with their discovery obligations.

“This court finds that the US attorney’s office is not under the court’s discretion or control.”

As the proceeding wrapped, Merchan said: “See you all on the 15th.”

As Trump left court, he had a hard-to-read facial expression, but did give a thumbs-up to someone in the gallery. He also mouthed “thank you” to someone in the audience.

At a press conference in downtown Manhattan not long after the proceeding, Trump remained defiant – and dangled the possibility that he might take the stand in his defense with the upcoming criminal trial.

“I would have no problem testifying,” Trump said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”