A New York judge on Thursday is expected to rule on whether the Manhattan district attorney’s case against Donald J. Trump can go to trial as early as next month, in what would be the first criminal prosecution of a former American president.
The judge, Juan M. Merchan, will convene a hearing at 9:30 a.m. to address Mr. Trump’s long-shot request that he throw out the charges, which stem from a hush-money payment to a porn star. If Justice Merchan rejects Mr. Trump’s request — as is expected — then the judge will most likely set a firm date for the trial, which had been tentatively scheduled for March 25.
Mr. Trump, who is expected to attend the hearing on Thursday, faces 91 felony counts across four indictments from prosecutors in Washington, Florida and Georgia as well as Manhattan, all while he seeks to lock up the Republican presidential nomination.
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, was the first to obtain an indictment of Mr. Trump, accusing him last year of covering up a potential sex scandal involving the porn star during and after the 2016 election. Mr. Bragg, a Democrat, has cast his case not as a condemnation of sordid financial dealings, but as an example of Mr. Trump’s interfering in an election by concealing crucial information from voters.
Until recently, another criminal case involving accusations of election interference was poised to go to trial first. That case, filed in federal court in Washington by a special counsel, Jack Smith, centers on Mr. Trump’s effort to remain in power after his 2020 election defeat.
Mr. Bragg had indicated a willingness for the Washington case to jump ahead in line, underscoring its historical significance. But appeals from Mr. Trump postponed that trial, initially scheduled for March 4.
Here’s what else you need to know about Thursday’s hearing:
Mr. Bragg’s case is best known for its salacious facts: During the 2016 campaign, the porn star, Stormy Daniels, threatened to go public with her story of a tryst with Mr. Trump, who then authorized a $130,000 payoff to keep her quiet. Paying hush money is not inherently illegal, but Mr. Trump is accused of falsifying records to hide a potential scandal from voters.
The case might come down to the word of Mr. Trump’s former fixer, Michael D. Cohen, who paid Ms. Daniels just days before voters went to the polls. Once Mr. Trump was elected, he reimbursed Mr. Cohen. This is the conduct at the heart of the case. Mr. Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, is expected to testify that Mr. Trump authorized his family business to falsely record the payments to Mr. Cohen as legal expenses.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have argued that Justice Merchan should throw out the case, deriding it as a “discombobulated package of politically motivated charges marred by legal defects.” They have also disputed whether the charges should be felonies. Mr. Trump has accused Mr. Bragg of carrying out a witch hunt against him.
This week is a perilous one for Mr. Trump. A day after Justice Merchan holds his hearing, another New York judge is expected to deliver a final ruling in Mr. Trump’s civil fraud case. The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, is weighing the New York attorney general’s request that he penalize Mr. Trump nearly $370 million and effectively oust him from the New York business world.
In addition to the Manhattan and Washington criminal cases, Mr. Trump faces federal charges in Florida, also brought by Mr. Smith, over his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. In the Georgia case, Mr. Trump is accused of seeking to subvert the 2020 election results in that state. On Thursday, at the same time that Mr. Trump is expected in Justice Merchan’s courtroom, there is a hearing in the Georgia case concerning a romantic relationship between the two prosecutors leading the case.
