Hush money case: Ex-US President Donald Trump's first criminal trial to begin on March 25 in New York

A New York judge denied former President Donald Trump's request to dismiss criminal charges related to a "hush money" payment and said his trial would proceed as scheduled on March 25.

Former President Donald Trump's plea to dismiss criminal charges linked to a "hush money" payment was rejected by a New York judge, who announced that the trial would proceed as planned on March 25. This decision deals a setback to Trump's attempts to postpone what could become the inaugural trial of any former president in US history.

Trump is present at a pretrial hearing for a case concerning a payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016. A grand jury indicted Trump on March 30, 2023, with 34 felony counts of falsification of business records. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. He has accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of pursuing the case for political motives.

Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump's motion to dismiss the charges at the beginning of the hearing. "At this point I can inform you that we're moving ahead with jury selection on March 25," he told the court.

At a hearing last May, Merchan established a preliminary trial date of March 25, but there have been no other public proceedings in the case since then. Trump's attorneys had attempted to have the charges dismissed. Speaking outside the courtroom Thursday morning, Trump criticized the case, denouncing it as a "great double standard" and citing "election interference."

"There was no crime here at all. This is just a way of hurting me in the election because I'm leading by a lot," he told a crush of cameras. "They want to rush it because they want to get it desperately before the election. … They wouldn't have brought this — no way — except for the fact that I'm running for president and doing well."

Trump stands accused of involvement in a scheme to fabricate records aimed at concealing a series of payments to his former "fixer" and attorney, Michael Cohen. Prosecutors assert that these payments were reimbursements for a hush money settlement with Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump. She allegedly agreed to silence in exchange for $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election.

Trump's legal team refutes the notion that the payments to Cohen were part of a cover-up, contending that they were reimbursement for legal expenses.

Since the previous hearing in the case, the former president's legal challenges have multiplied, and his schedule has become inundated with court appearances. He faces charges in three other criminal proceedings: federal cases in Washington, D.C., and Florida, as well as a state case in Georgia.

Trump has opted to attend the hearing in New York instead of one scheduled for Thursday in Georgia. In Georgia, a judge will examine evidence concerning allegations that District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade misused public funds due to their romantic relationship. Both parties have acknowledged the relationship but have denied any financial impropriety. The Georgia case involves accusations that Trump and others conspired to undermine the 2020 election results in the state.

The federal case in Washington, which focuses on Trump's efforts to overturn President Biden's 2020 election victory, was initially set for March 4. However, the date is currently on hold as Trump appeals a rejected claim of presidential immunity to the Supreme Court.