Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) office opposes former President Trump’s request to postpone his hush money trial due to unfair publicity.
In court documents published on Wednesday, prosecutors argued that the trial date of April 15 should proceed as planned, highlighting that Trump has tried eight times to delay all four of his criminal trials beyond the November election.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo stated that the national attention on the case is unlikely to decrease, and that Trump actively seeks media attention.
Colangelo wrote in the new filing, “Defendant cannot complain about prejudicial pretrial publicity, while also trying to bias the jury by making unfounded and provocative claims about the trial, specific witnesses, individual prosecutors, and the Court itself.”
Last week, Trump renewed his request to indefinitely delay the trial because of the intense media coverage, claiming it prejudices potential jurors and prevents a fair trial.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche wrote in the motion made public last week, “No fair and impartial jury can be selected in this County at any time in the near future, including in April of this year. Therefore, the Court should postpone the trial date until the prejudicial media coverage subsides.” Blanche also attached a media study and polling conducted at the direction of Trump’s team indicating that a majority of Manhattan residents already believe the former president is guilty.Blanche's motion was made public last week.
Bragg’s office is prosecuting Trump on 34 charges of falsifying business records, alleging that he criminally covered up a hush money payment to hide damaging information from the public before the 2016 election. Trump pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors responded by insisting that Trump’s motion included inaccuracies and issues that the judge had already rejected. They also expressed doubts about the reliability of the data provided by Trump’s team.
“None of the new information presented by the defendant supports his request for a postponement; in fact, much of the new data actually confirms
that the Court will be able to find twelve impartial jurors (and alternates) in Manhattan,” Colangelo wrote. “The Court should therefore reject the prior rulings and should stick to the trial date of April 15, 2024.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) office opposes former President Trump’s request to delay his fast-approaching hush money trial due to unfair publicity. In court documents published on Wednesday, prosecutors argued that the trial date of April 15 should proceed as planned, highlighting that Trump has tried eight times to delay all four of his criminal trials beyond the November election.
