Former President Donald Trump's New York hush-money criminal trial has been delayed until at least mid-April, as Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan seeks answers about a last-minute evidence dump that has impacted the defense's ability to prepare. The trial, which had been scheduled to start on March 25, will now begin no earlier than April 15. The delay comes after Trump's lawyers complained about receiving over 100,000 pages of documents from a previous federal investigation related to the case. The judge has scheduled a hearing for March 25 to determine whether prosecutors should face sanctions or if the case should be dismissed, as requested by Trump's defense team.

The hush-money case revolves around allegations that Trump falsified his company's records to conceal payments to his attorney, Michael Cohen, who paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 during the 2016 presidential campaign to suppress her claims of an extramarital encounter with Trump. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and has denied the encounter with Daniels. His lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses and not part of a cover-up.

The delay in the trial, which was approved by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, follows a dispute over the late production of evidence by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan. Trump's attorneys criticized Bragg's office for not explaining the steps taken to obtain the records and accused them of being derelict. The defense had requested a 90-day delay, pushing the trial into the early summer, and asked for the case to be dismissed. Prosecutors were willing to proceed on March 25 but agreed to a 30-day adjournment to allow the defense time to review the new materials.

The trial delay is significant, given that Trump has multiple criminal cases pending and is considering running for president in 2024. The defense has also sought to postpone the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on Trump's claims of presidential immunity, which could impact the hush-money case. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on April 25. Trump has repeatedly sought to delay his criminal trials, citing his potential candidacy and the need to focus on the campaign trail.