Lower than two weeks earlier than Donald J. Trump is about to go on trial for felony costs in Manhattan, the prosecutors who introduced the case requested a decide on Thursday to delay it as much as 30 days, a startling growth within the first prosecution of a former American president.
The Manhattan district legal professional’s workplace, which accused Mr. Trump of masking up a intercourse scandal throughout and after the 2016 presidential marketing campaign, sought the delay so it may assessment a brand new batch of information. It solely lately obtained the information from federal prosecutors, who years in the past investigated the identical hush-money funds on the heart of the case.
The potential postponement of the trial, which is scheduled to start out with jury choice on March 25, would signify the newest delay on Mr. Trump’s sprawling authorized docket. The felony case towards him in Washington, the place he’s accused of plotting to overturn the 2020 election outcomes, was initially alleged to go to trial this month, however that’s delayed whereas Mr. Trump appeals to the Supreme Court docket.
A delay within the Manhattan case would almost definitely delight the previous president, whose central technique for combating all of his authorized entanglements is to stall as a lot as doable. If he’s elected to a second time period in November, the felony instances towards him would grind to a halt till he’s out of workplace.
Nonetheless, the decide overseeing the Manhattan case, Juan M. Merchan, should approve the delay, and he has made a degree of pushing the case ahead at each flip. It’s unclear when he’ll rule. And till he does, it’s unclear how Mr. Trump’s different instances may be affected.
