Former President Donald Trump speaks alongside his attorney Todd Blanche following the day’s proceedings in his trial Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York. NEW YORK — Manhattan prosecutors won’t be penalized for a last-minute document dump that caused former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial to start later than scheduled, a judge ruled Thursday.
In a written ruling issued Thursday, Merchan reiterated that Trump didn’t suffer any prejudice from the document dump because he and his lawyers were “given a reasonable amount of time to prepare and respond to the material.” After testimony from 22 witnesses over the last month, including Cohen and Daniels, the first criminal trial of a former president is slated to move to closing arguments next Tuesday, with jury deliberations expected to follow as early as Wednesday.
At the March 25 hearing, Merchan said the DA’s office had no duty to collect evidence from the federal investigation, nor was the U.S. attorney’s office required to volunteer the documents. What transpired was a “far cry” from Manhattan prosecutors “injecting themselves in the process and vehemently and aggressively trying to obstruct your ability to get documentation,” the judge said.The DA’s office denied wrongdoing and blamed Trump’s lawyers for waiting until Jan.
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