Manhattan DA Bragg asks for delay to Trump's hush money trial

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is pushing for a delay to the start of former President Trump’s New York hush-money criminal trial. 

In a Thursday court filing, the DA’s office said it was not opposed to adjourning the start of the trial for up to 30 days to give Trump's legal team time to review evidence that was recently turned over. 

Trump’s lawyers are seeking a 90-day delay or the dismissal of charges against Trump, alleging violations of the "discovery process," whereby both sides exchange evidence. 

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The new records came from the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, which previously investigated the hush-money arrangement at the heart of Trump's New York criminal case.

Trump’s legal team has also sought a delay to the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s presidential immunity claim. Oral arguments in that case are slated to begin in late April. 

The judge in the hush-money case, Juan Manual Merchan, has yet to rule on either request. Jury selection in the trial is scheduled to begin March 25.

Since March 4, Trump's lawyers have received at least 84,000 pages of records from the federal prosecutor's office in Manhattan, including a batch of 31,000 pages on Wednesday, according to a court filing.

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The records pertain to a federal investigation that touched on the hush-money matter and led to prison time for former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

Federal prosecutors in 2018 charged Cohen with campaign finance violations related to the hush-money payments, with evading taxes related to his investments in the taxi industry and with lying to Congress.

Cohen, who blamed Trump for his legal problems, pleaded guilty and served about a year in prison before being released to home confinement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He is now a key prosecution witness in the Manhattan district attorney's case. Trump and his lawyers have portrayed Cohen as completely untrustworthy.