Feb. 15 (UPI) — A New York Judge on Thursday set the trial for former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial for March 25.
Judge Juan Merchan denied the request by Trump, who attended the pretrial hearing, to dismiss the charges against him.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche said that going ahead with the March trial is a “great injustice.”
Prosecutor Matthew Colango argued that Trump’s lawyer previously said the March 25 date would minimize disruption to Trump’s campaign. Colango said trying to delay the trial is part of “a continued pattern to evade accountability.”
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
He denies the charges.
Prosecutors allege Trump falsified the business records in an effort to conceal a series of payments to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen reimbursing Cohen for $130,000 he paid to Daniels on Trump’s behalf.
Trump, who faces a total of 91 felonies in four different criminal cases, continued to claim innocence in the New York case alleging it is “election interference.”
A grand jury indicted Trump on the 34 counts related to payments to Daniels last March. Prosecutors in that case allege Trump’s motive for committing the business fraud to allegedly disguise the payments was to hide damaging information from the public during the 2016 presidential election.
Falsifying business records is a class E felony in New York, with each charge carrying a maximum four years in prison usually served concurrently.
In addition to the criminal cases, Trump has been found civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jeanne Carroll and for committing systematic business fraud in a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
A ruling from Judge Arthur Engoron on how much Trump will have to pay for business fraud in the New York civil case is expected as soon as Friday.
