Donald Trump arrives in court for hush money hearing as deadline looms to pay $454m fraud trial bond – live

Donald Trump just walked into the Manhattan courtroom for what could be a pivotal hearing in his hush money case, as judge Juan Merchan weighs whether to set a new trial date, or delay proceedings further.

“,”elementId”:”f540fa4f-ea76-4bda-a522-5962239dbc6b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Wearing a navy suit, red tie and white shirt, the former president entered just before 10am, without much of an expression on his face.

“,”elementId”:”23370e09-99a1-420b-84e6-0d2152933a68″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

“This is a witch-hunt and a hoax,” he said, before going into the courtroom.

“,”elementId”:”e78048ff-b70b-4000-a0fe-89b3dc3fece2″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1711375225000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”10.00 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1711375494000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”10.04 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1711375494000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”10.04 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”10.04″,”title”:”Trump arrives in Manhattan courtroom for hearing where judge could further delay hush money trial”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Victoria Bekiempis”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Global/content/icons/2012/1/12/1326399318846/victoriabekiempis_140x140.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d4686d26969d9d9085c81230ba7970a9″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 25 Mar 2024 10.07 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 25 Mar 2024 09.00 EDT”},{“id”:”660177768f0836b1893aefde”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Donald Trump is this morning doing what he does: raging on Truth Social about the latest developments in his rollercoaster of a career as a businessman and politician, the latest subject being the massive $454m bond he is on the hook for.

“,”elementId”:”df5063d4-fe9a-4932-870e-a1ac49c34ce2″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The former president has not found someone willing to back his guarantee, raising the possibility that Letitia James may start freezing his bank accounts and seizing his property. On Truth, Trump was apoplectic about the prospect that he’d have to part with some of his real estate, or his “babies”, in order to satisfy his financial obligations:

“,”elementId”:”e0b43d48-c70c-4992-83a2-0baab9bace33″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”

\n

Crooked Pols!!! There should be no FINE. Did nothing wrong! Why should I be forced to sell my “babies” because a CORRUPT NEW YORK JUDGE & A.G. SET A FAKE AND RIDICULOUS NUMBER. “TAKE HIS CASH SO THAT HE CAN’T USE IT TO DEFEAT HIS POLITICAL OPPONENT, CROOKED JOE BIDEN.” ELECTION INTERFERENCE, ALL HEADED UP BY THE WHITE HOUSE – THIS INCLUDES FANI AND THE CORRUPT MANHATTAN D.A. BRAGG ADMITTED THERE WAS NO CRIME, WAS MORTIFIED BY WHAT MARK POMERANCE DID – AND HE SHOULD BE. WITCH HUNT!

\n

“,”elementId”:”f5209a81-143a-406a-a159-a86c7263ee5c”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1711372150000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”09.09 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1711372543000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”09.15 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1711372544000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”09.15 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”09.15″,”title”:”As deadline to post $454m bond looms, Trump asks ‘Why should I be forced to sell my \”babies\”‘”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 25 Mar 2024 10.07 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 25 Mar 2024 09.00 EDT”},{“id”:”66016b078f08049f814f54e2″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Today is another big one for Donald Trump and his lawyers, who are expected in a New York City courtroom for a hearing that may decide when his case on charges related to hush money payments goes to trial anytime soon. Jury selection was originally supposed to begin today, but Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg requested a delay after receiving new documents from federal prosecutors. He now says no further postponements are necessary, and we’ll see if judge Juan Merchan agrees. Trump has been indicted four times, but all of his cases have been tied up in pre-trial motions and appeals, raising the possibility that none are resolved prior to his expected face off in the November presidential election against Joe Biden. The Manhattan case appears to be the one closest to starting trial, and we’ll see if Merchan gets the ball rolling, or gives the former president another delay.

“,”elementId”:”3fa81ce7-9aeb-4d60-868a-a18a5696c9ba”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Today is also the deadline for Trump to put up a $454m bond required by the judgement in his fraudulent property valuation case, or face that prospect that New York attorney general Letitia James starts seizing his bank accounts and, potentially, his commercial property. The former president has had trouble finding a backer willing to do that, but there’s still time for someone to step up.

“,”elementId”:”83471bd6-1216-4eae-8939-54af29211679″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Here’s what else is going on today:

“,”elementId”:”a839c318-f836-4319-a9bc-71ff0c92d986″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

\n

• Biden, who has not been popular with voters for most of his presidency, overtook Trump in the Economist’s polling average, perhaps a sign of better days to come.

\n

• Congress left Washington DC after narrowly averting a partial government shutdown, but leaving behind all kinds of unfinished business, including whether or not to approve military aid to Israel and Ukraine.

\n

• White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spars with reporters at 1pm ET.

\n

“,”elementId”:”92a8fae5-d369-4d00-8e3c-1d31def2dc41″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1711371642000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”09.00 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1711370314000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”08.38 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1711371642000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”09.00 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”09.00″,”title”:”New York judge may set new trial date in Trump hush money case as ex-president faces deadline for bond”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 25 Mar 2024 10.07 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 25 Mar 2024 09.00 EDT”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”}” config=”{“renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false}”>

Key events

Victoria Bekiempis

The hearing is about to begin.

Judge Juan Merchan just arrived on the bench. Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg came into the room shortly before Donald Trump.

Trump arrives in Manhattan courtroom for hearing where judge could further delay hush money trial

Victoria Bekiempis

Donald Trump just walked into the Manhattan courtroom for what could be a pivotal hearing in his hush money case, as judge Juan Merchan weighs whether to set a new trial date, or delay proceedings further.

Wearing a navy suit, red tie and white shirt, the former president entered just before 10am, without much of an expression on his face.

“This is a witch-hunt and a hoax,” he said, before going into the courtroom.