Donald Trump’s New York case — the only one of his four criminal cases that looked like it would go to trial soon — suddenly faced the possibility of a delay Thursday when a large batch of potential new evidence suddenly became available.
News of the possible postponement came as the former president was in federal court in Florida for a separate hearing in a different case — one in which he is accused of mishandling classified documents, which even now has no firm start date. The judge there rejected one of Mr. Trump’s several motions to dismiss the case.
On Friday, a judge in Georgia is expected to rule on another of four cases over whether to disqualify the prosecutor who accused Mr. Trump and a group of his allies of tampering with that state’s 2020 election results — a decision that could be pivotal in determining whether the case goes to trial this year or at all.
And in Washington, prosecutors and Mr Trump’s lawyers are preparing for a showdown at the Supreme Court, which will hear arguments next month on his claim that he is immune from charges in a federal indictment accusing him of plotting to overthrow the his defeat in the 2020 elections. That case was originally supposed to go before a jury this month.
The latest complications make clear how the justice system is struggling to balance fairness and speed within a calendar shaped by the presidential campaign. All four cases in recent weeks have, in one way or another, become further mired in procedural or substantive issues that have resulted in delays.
The issue of time is of paramount importance in the prosecution of Trump. Mr. Trump, after all, is a unique defendant.
He secured enough delegates this week to ensure he will be the Republican nominee for a third straight election, and if he wins in November, he will be able to use the powers of his office to get rid of the charges he faces or delay any trials until leave his office.
And if he doesn’t go to trial in some or all four cases before voters go to the polls, Americans will choose their next leader without a chance to hear all the evidence or have a jury determine innocence or his guilt.
The hush money case, which was scheduled to start on March 25, is just the latest case to face a delay. Thursday’s surprise development came after the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is handling the prosecution, proposed a delay of up to 30 days to allow the Trump team to review a new batch of files.
U.S. Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office had been trying to get the records from federal prosecutors in Manhattan from a separate investigation they conducted several years ago into hush money payments, but only recently received them.
Mr. Trump, who has used many tactics to delay his legal process, asked for a 90-day delay to review what was revealed to be tens of thousands of pages of new material. It’s now up to the judge in the case, State Supreme Court Associate Justice Juan Merchan, to decide what to do, although the fact that both sides in the case agree there should be some form of delay means it’s almost certain that will happen.
Justice Merchan could give each side what they want or choose a grace period somewhere between their requests. Either way, it would mean the trial would begin at least a month after originally scheduled — possibly creating a cascading effect on the timing of other trials in the heat of a presidential campaign unlike any other.
Any of Trump’s tests could continue from Election Day to the time of his inauguration — and possibly beyond. If Mr. Trump were to win the election, he would have the power on Jan. 20, 2025, to order his new attorney general to dismiss any federal charges he faces, and he could seek to delay any state charges from proceeding in a pair of different ways. But none of this would happen automatically. It would require him or his lawyers to take action, and those actions could take some time before derailing the cases.
Where is every criminal case?
Mr. Trump is at the center of at least four separate criminal investigations, both at the state and federal levels, into matters related to his business and political career. This is where each case currently stands.
What to watch next
Judge Aileen Cannon of the United States District Court for South Florida has not yet ruled on when she plans to begin the trial over classified documents. The judge held a hearing two weeks ago to choose a start date, but has yet to issue her ruling.
