NEW YORK — A judge said Thursday that jury selection for Donald Trump’s trial would begin March 25, setting a date with history for what would be the first criminal prosecution of an ex-president — one who also leads the Republican field of 2024 candidates for the White House.
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Trump watched from a defense table in Manhattan criminal court as New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan said he will go forward with the trial on charges that Trump falsified business records during the heat of the 2016 political campaign to keep secret a past sexual liaison with an adult-film star. The judge said he expects the trial to take about six weeks.
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On Feb. 15, former president Donald Trump arrived at a Manhattan courtroom for a hearing determining whether his first criminal trial will begin in March. (Video: The Washington Post)
Defense attorney Todd Blanche pushed back, saying the defense team needs more time to prepare and that a trial will unfairly intervene with the former president’s quest to return to the White House. He also noted that Trump is scheduled for trial in late May in Florida on charges of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing government attempts to retrieve them. The judge in that case, however, has indicated that she may delay the proceedings to allow more time for the lawyers to review highly classified evidence.