Donald Trump has blasted a criminal court case as a "pure case of voter intimidation" as a judge has ruled that the former president is set to go on trial on April 15.
The date all but ensures that Trump will become the first-ever former US president to go on trial for criminal charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star.
Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche said it was unfair for Trump to stand trial while he runs for president.
He said: "He shouldn't have to sit for a trial now because (prosecutors) chose to bring this case a year ago and not three years ago."
In a press conference, Trump slammed the ruling
Reuters
In a press conference outside the court, Trump told reporters that the hush money case against him was a "pure case of voter intimidation and election interference."
He added: "This was a case that could have been brought three-and-a-half years ago and they decided to wait now, just during the election, so that I won't be able to campaign."
If the hush money trial starts in April, it would be the first of Trump’s four criminal trials to begin, and potentially the only one to occur before the presidential election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen's $130,000 payment to silence adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says they had a decade earlier, an encounter Trump denies.
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Donald Trump gave a speech
Reuters
Jury selection for the case was initially scheduled to begin on Monday, but Justice Juan Merchan on March 15 delayed it for at least 30 days.
It comes as Trump's lawyers accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, which brought the charges, of trying to bury documents that could help them challenge Cohen's credibility.
The documents came from the US Attorney's office in Manhattan, which previously investigated the payment but did not charge Trump.
Cohen testified that Trump directed him to make the payment and went to prison after pleading guilty to violating campaign finance laws.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks from the hallway outside a courtroom in New York City
Reuters
Prosecutors say the Daniels payoff was part of a broader "catch-and-kill" scheme Cohen and Trump hatched to boost his candidacy. The pair reportedly bought the silence of people with damaging information against Trump.
Daniels says she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump denies the encounter.
Trump's lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to benefit his 2016 campaign. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges of violating campaign finance laws through the payment.
Elsewhere today, Trump won a bid to pause his $454million civil fraud judgment if he posts a smaller $175million bond within 10 days, in a victory for Trump that blocks New York state authorities from taking steps to seize his assets.
He said: "I greatly respect the decision of the appellate division and I'll post either the $175million in cash or bonds or securities or whatever is necessary, very quickly."