Donald Trump received both a lifeline from the courts Monday and a trial date for the first criminal trial of a former president in US history, a pair of rulings that hit home the legal whiplash constantly surrounding him.
The twin rulings Monday, which came roughly within an hour of each other, hit the intersection of challenges to Trump’s image and his famed business empire as he seeks a second term in the White House.
Here are key takeaways from another historic day for Trump:
- Hush money trial date set: Trump’s historic criminal trial in the New York hush money case against him will begin with jury selection on April 15, Judge Juan Merchan said Monday, after a dispute over the late production of documents caused the judge initially to push back the start date. Barring another unforeseen hiccup, the former president will face a jury on criminal charges for at least one of his trials before the November election. The date is three weeks later than originally scheduled, but the delay won’t make much of a dent on Trump’s 2024 calendar – and it’s still murky whether any of his other three trials will happen before the election.
- Appeals court lowers Trump’s bond: The more significant ruling Monday may have been a New York appeals court allowing him to post a reduced $175 million bond to appeal the $464 million civil fraud judgment against him, his adult sons and his company. Trump told reporters he will cover the bond using cash as a collateral. Trump’s lawyers said last week that he was unable to post a $464 million bond to appeal the civil fraud judgement against him. Trump faced a Monday deadline to post bond or else New York Attorney General Letitia James could have begun the process of seizing his property. But the appeals court ruling gave Trump an additional 10 days to post a bond of $175 million.
- Judge dismisses allegations made against district attorney: During Monday’s hearing, Merchan also discredited Trump’s allegations of misconduct against the district attorney’s office, finding that prosecutors cooperated in the effort to secure documents from the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York. "It’s odd that we’re even here," the judge said at one point. The judge repeatedly also said how serious and concerning Trump’s allegations were against Manhattan prosecutors, at one point raising his voice on the bench.
Read more about today's legal developments in the two cases.