Donald Trump Faces Pivotal Legal Week

Donald Trump faces a busy week, with numerous developments expected in multiple legal battles.

Over the next few days, the former president will be hit by developments in three of his four indictments—his hush money, federal election interference and classified documents cases—as well as find out whether he broke a gag order and whether his bond posted in his civil fraud case will be permitted. He will also see developments in his presidential immunity case.

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On Monday, a New York court will hear opening arguments in the Republican’s hush money case, which will determine whether Trump falsified business records over payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an alleged affair secret before the 2016 election, as alleged in a criminal indictment.

Prosecutors led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg allege the payments were part of a scheme to stop potentially damaging stories about the Republican from becoming public. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for 2024, has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges against him in the case.

A separate issue has emerged from the case—the extent to which the Republican is following a gag order Judge Juan Merchan imposed on Trump in March, which prohibits the Republican from making public comments about prosecutors, witnesses or jurors in the case, or their families, in the high-profile case. It was expanded in April to include prohibitions on Trump making statements about Merchan’s family and Bragg.

Merchan has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday over claims that Trump’s social media posts linking to articles that attacked his former lawyer Michael Cohen or claimed that “undercover liberal activists” are lying to the judge to get on the jury were a violation of the gag order.

Prosecutors have asked the judge to fine Trump $3,000 for the violation.

Meanwhile, whether or not Trump’s bond in his civil fraud case will be allowed is to be determined on Monday.

In February, Engoron found Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization liable for a scheme in which the value of Trump’s net worth and assets were unlawfully inflated to obtain more favorable business deals. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.

Knight Specialty Insurance Company (KSIC) posted a $175 million bond for the Republican following a successful fraud lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James challenged it and in response Trump’s legal team said it was legally permitted to post the bond for Trump.

If Trump wins the case on April 22, James will have to pay the costs of the former president reapplying to the court with new bond paperwork.

Aside from that, Trump will see a development in his classified documents case. Last June, Trump was charged with retaining national defense information, including U.S. nuclear secrets and plans for U.S. military retaliation in the event of an attack, and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. Prosecutors have said he took the documents after leaving the White House in 2021 and resisted repeated requests by federal officials to return them all.

The judge overseeing Trump’s classified documents trial, Aileen Cannon, has since ordered the public release of a grand jury testimony by one of the former president’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta, a former Trump aide. He has been told to file it by Wednesday.

Finally, on Thursday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments for and against Trump’s motion that he has absolute immunity from prosecution in the Washington, D.C., indictment brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to deny the right to vote, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and obstruction of an official proceeding in relation to the events of January 6, 2021, when protestors stormed the Capitol. As with all of his indictments, he had denied all wrongdoing.