Trump can pay smaller bond in civil fraud case as judge sets April date for hush money trial

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.

Former President Donald Trump repeated some familiar baseless claims in remarks on Monday after major developments in two of his New York legal cases. He spoke after a judge set an April 15 date for the beginning of his Manhattan, New York, criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records related to a hush money scheme, and, separately, an appeals court reduced the bond he must put up after being found liable for civil fraud.

Trump claimed that “this is all Biden-run things” and that “these are all Biden trials.” He also claimed that Matthew Colangelo, a former senior Justice Department official who now works for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, had been “put into” the district attorney’s office by Biden. 

Facts First: There is no basis for Trump’s claims. First, there is no evidence that Biden has been involved in bringing or running any of the criminal or civil cases against Trump. The Manhattan prosecution is being led by Bragg and the civil fraud case by New York state Attorney General Letitia James. Both Bragg and James are elected officials who do not report to the president or the federal Justice Department. Second, there is no evidence that Biden had anything to do with Colangelo’s decision to leave the federal Justice Department and join the district attorney’s office in 2022 as senior counsel to Bragg. Colangelo and Bragg knew each other before Bragg was elected Manhattan district attorney.

Read more about the fact check.

Donald Trump is juggling a busy court and campaign schedule as he defends himself in several criminal cases while also vying for a second term in the White House.

The former president’s criminal hush money trial is expected to start on April 15. He faces charges stemming from his alleged falsification of business records with the intent to conceal illegal conduct connected to his 2016 presidential campaign.

The trial start date in Trump’s classified documents case in Florida had been set for late May, but the judge overseeing that case revisited the timing of the trial during a key hearing on March 1. Judge Aileen Cannon has not yet set a new date for the trial.

Here's what the former president's colliding calendar looks like:

Former President Donald Trump had a big legal day on Monday where some major movements happened in the civil fraud and hush money cases against him.

Here's what to know about each case:

Hush money case: Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from reimbursements made to Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen for hush money payments he made before the 2016 election to cover up an alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The former president has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair.

During a hearing in New York on Monday, which Trump attended, Judge Juan Merchan said the criminal trial against the former president will begin on April 15 with jury selection. The judge dismissed the Trump’s motion to toss out the indictment altogether or delay the trial further.

Civil fraud case: A New York appeals court ruled Trump must pay a $175 million bond as he appeals the civil fraud judgment against him. He also was given 10 additional days to post the bond.

It’s a major lifeline for the former president, who, along with his adult sons and his company, were fined more than $464 million, which was due today, after Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his co-defendants fraudulently inflated the value of his assets.

The ruling staves off the prospect, for now, of New York Attorney General Letitia James seeking to seize the former president’s property to enforce the judgment against him.

Donald Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise in a statement said the appellate ruling on the civil fraud bond is a "great first step towards reversal of “baseless and reckless judgment.”

Kise also said Trump looks forward to a "full and fair appellate process" that ends the New York Attorney General’s "abuse of power and tyrannical pursuit" of the Republican presidential candidate.

More on the ruling: A New York appeals court Monday said Trump has to post $175 million in 10 days in order for his appeal of Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling to go forward — giving the former president a lifeline as he faced possible seizure of his prized real estate properties.

Donald Trump scored a roughly 60% discount on the amount of cash he’ll need to pony up to avoid having his assets seized by the state of New York — an outcome that one legal expert said was “highly unusual.” 

A New York appellate court reduced Trump’s bond to $175 million from $464 million, and granted him 10 days to come up with the payment.

“It’s highly unusual that it would be reduced at all,” said Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor in New York. “And it’s highly unusual that it would be reduced by this amount.”

But, Epner said it’s not unprecedented, citing the 1980s fight between Texaco and Pennzoil, in which a court reduced Texaco’s bond from more than $10 billion to $1 billion. Texaco ended up filing for bankruptcy in 1987.

Trump, his adult sons and his company were fined more than $464 million, including interest, in the New York civil trial, after Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his co-defendants fraudulently inflated the value of his assets.

Correction: This post has been updated with the correct dollar amount of Trump's earlier bond.

Former President Donald Trump said Monday that he would have "no problem" testifying in his criminal hush money trial that is now scheduled to begin next month.

"I would have no problem testifying. I didn't do anything wrong," Trump told reporters after attending a hearing in that trial in New York.

Trump’s New York criminal trial will begin on April 15 with jury selection, Judge Juan Merchan said Monday, after dismissing the former president’s motion to toss out the indictment altogether or delay the trial further.

Despite the set date, Trump cast doubt on whether the trial would take place, saying, "I don't know that you're gonna have the trial. I don't know how you can have a trial like this in the middle of an election, a presidential election."

Asked if he was concerned that a conviction in that trial could cost him the election in November, Trump answered, "Well, it could also make me more popular because the people know it's a scam. It's a Biden trial."

Former President Donald Trump touted that he has "a lot of cash" when asked about the timeline of securing the $175 million bond in the civil fraud case against him.

He went on to say how he would also like to use his cash funds for his reelection bid and claimed, but "they don't want me to use my cash to get reelected."

Asked if he planned to start personal funds into his presidential campaign, Trump responded, "First of all, it's none of your business," before adding, "I might do that. I have the option."

The former president also said he thought it would be possible to borrow money from a foreign government to post a bond in an American trial, but that he wouldn't need to. Pressed by CNN's Kate Sullivan if he would ever accept money from a foreign government to pay, Trump responded, "I don't do that. I mean, I think you'd be allowed to, possibly," remarking that many of the "biggest banks" are outside of the US.

This post has been updated with additional comments from Trump.

Former President Donald Trump claimed that the hush money trial against him in New York is being rushed and called it "election interference."

“You have a case which … they’re dying to get this thing started. The judge cannot go faster. He wants to get it started so badly," Trump said.

If the trial goes ahead on April 15, it could be the only of Trump’s criminal trials to take place before the November general election. The trial will have begun a year after the charges were filed.

Trump also argued there should not be a trial during the election and attacked his opponent, President Joe Biden.