Trump criminal trial over hush money payment to start next March
World
Trump criminal trial over hush money payment to start next March
(Reuters) - Donald Trump will face a criminal trial on March 25, 2024, over charges he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, a judge said on Tuesday.
Justice Juan Merchan in Manhattan state court set the date during a hearing in which the former U.S. president appeared remotely.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records.
Trump, wearing a striped red tie and blue suit and sitting next to his lawyer Todd Blanche in front of U.S. flags, was shown on at least four screens in Merchan's courtroom.
At the start of the hearing, Blanche told Merchan that Trump understood that he could not disclose certain evidence in the case to third parties, including to news outlets and on social media.
The restrictions on Trump concern grand jury minutes, witness statements, and other materials that prosecutors are required to turn over to the defense to prepare for trial.
Prosecutors have said the order was needed because of Trump's history of attacks on social media, and the risk that witnesses might be harassed.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president in the 2024 election, would remain free to speak about most evidence in the case, which comes from the defense, the judge said at a hearing earlier this month.
