The judge, who previously handled Trump's secret payment case, will let Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels speak at the trial despite Trump's objections.
In two different decisions announced on Monday, Judge Juan Merchan made decisions on several requests from both parties to exclude different evidence.
The judge's decision allows the Manhattan District Attorney's office to present a broad story to the jury about three individuals who received hush money from Michael Cohen, Trump's former fixer, to keep quiet about their scandalous accusations against Trump.
The trial was supposed to start next week, but it has been postponed for a few weeks due to new relevant documents. The case might still go to a jury this spring, making it Trump's first criminal trial.
The District Attorney alleges that Trump illegally falsified business records when he reimbursed Cohen for the payment to Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump. Trump, who denies the affair, pleaded not guilty to his 34 charges.
Prosecutors aim to show that the payment was part of a broader effort to suppress negative rumors about Trump before the 2016 presidential election.
The judge's decision allows prosecutors to call Daniels and Cohen as witnesses, as well as former Playboy model Karen McDougal and ex-Trump World Tower doorman Dino Sajudin. Both claim they were also paid to withhold scandalous accusations about Trump.
Trump tried to prevent the jury from hearing from Cohen and the three alleged recipients of payments. The judge rejected these requests, but did place some limitations on what Sajudin and McDougal can testify about.
The judge wrote that unless the prosecution provides a satisfactory offer of proof, the testimony about Sajudin and McDougal will be limited to the 'fact of' and cannot delve into the underlying details of their interactions with the defendant.
Trump has denied the accusations made by all three individuals who received payments.
While Trump's lawyers tried to stop them from testifying and questioned their credibility, they directed their harshest criticism at Cohen, portraying him as a dishonest person who should not be allowed to testify due to his past legal issues. The judge also ruled that any testimony about Cohen's previous guilty plea would not allow Trump's legal team to bring up past complaints dismissed by the FEC or the DOJ's decision not to charge him with campaign finance violations.The judge's rulings also settled several other disputes over evidence between the two parties.
Last week, Trump suggested in court documents that he planned to use a watered-down, informal advice of counsel defense. This defense would involve obtaining evidence about the involvement and guidance of lawyers in the events leading to the charges in the indictment, mainly from Cohen.
“Merchan ruled on Monday that Trump cannot propose or even hint at a presence-of-counsel defense, because it would protect him from the potential downsides of the tactic, such as waiving the right to claim privilege.
Merchan stated that allowing such a defense would essentially let the defendant use a defense that he has claimed he wouldn't rely on, without the associated obligations. This would likely confuse and mislead the jury, which the Court cannot support.
As the judge made rulings on other matters, he reprimanded Trump's lawyers for bringing up arguments that he had already dismissed.
Merchan wrote that rearguing previous rulings in this manner is not proper and wastes the Court's valuable resources.
Although Trump's lawyers have stated that he won't seek acquittal on grounds of selective prosecution, the judge still barred him from making those arguments.
The former president cannot use his indictment's supposed uniqueness, any pre-indictment delay, the motivations of Bragg or his office, alleged bias of the court and its staff, or any potential consequences he may face upon conviction as a basis for the jury to find him not guilty.
Merchan clarified that his decision on selective prosecution would not prevent either party from attempting to discredit any witness during cross-examination.
However, he cautioned both parties that the Court will closely watch for any attempts to bypass its rulings, and directed them to carefully phrase questions to avoid introducing the jury to concerns that the Court has deemed irrelevant.
Trump's hush money trial, which was originally set to start on March 25, was delayed until at least mid-April after last-minute disclosure of documents from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Merchan postponed the trial and scheduled a hearing for March 25 to discuss the new documents and establish a new timeline.
The judge will permit Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels to testify at the trial over Trump's objections. Judge Juan Merchan addressed over a dozen requests from both sides to exclude various evidence in two separate decisions issued on Monday. Merchan's ruling also allows Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to…
Trump’s hush money trial — which is expected to be his first criminal trial — was scheduled to begin on March 25, but a last-minute dump of documents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York turned the schedule on its head just two weeks out.
Merchan delayed the trial until at least mid-April, and a hearing is now scheduled for March 25, where the judge and parties will discuss the new documents and an updated schedule.
