Former President Donald Trump on Monday asked a judge to delay his upcoming trial in New York as he waits for the Supreme Court to decide whether he’s protected from prosecution by presidential immunity.
Jury selection is set to begin March 25 in Trump’s trial, which is focused on allegations that he falsified business records during his successful 2016 presidential campaign. A grand jury indicted Trump last year on 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, authorities said.
In motions obtained by CNN, attorneys for Trump asked for the case to be paused to give the nation’s highest court time to decide the immunity question. The Supreme Court last month agreed to hear the case, with arguments scheduled for the week of April 22.
A ruling is not expected before the summer, according to Bloomberg News.
“President Trump respectfully submits that an adjournment of the trial is appropriate to await further guidance from the Supreme Court, which should facilitate the appropriate application of the presidential immunity doctrine in this case to the evidence the People intend to offer at trial,” Trump’s attorneys said in Monday’s filing.
“Following the Supreme Court’s guidance … the Court should hold a hearing outside the presence of the jury to identify and preclude documentary and testimonial official-acts evidence based on presidential immunity.”
Trump previously pleaded not guilty to charges and denied any wrongdoing.
If a judge declines to halt the case, it will be the first of his four criminal cases to go before a jury.
Federal authorities in Florida charged Trump in connection with his handling of hundreds of classified documents found during a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022. He is also facing federal charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Washington, D.C., and state charges in Georgia, where he and more than a dozen others are accused of racketeering to keep him in power after his election loss.
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