Former President Donald Trump is set to appear in court for a pretrial hearing on his criminal case for falsifying business records when he had his lawyer, Michael Cohen, make $130,000 in hush money payments to two women during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump's lawyers are trying to delay the case, which was supposed to start on Monday (March 25) or have the charges dismissed.
"These are Rigged cases, all coordinated by the White House and DOJ for purposes of Election Interference. THE NUMBER ENGORON SET IS FRAUDULENT. It should be ZERO, I DID NOTHING WRONG! The D.A. Case, that I am going to today, should be dismissed. No crime. Our Country is CORRUPT!" Trump wrote on Truth Social before heading to the courthouse in New York City.
Judge Juan Merchan will preside over the hearing. If he does not throw out the case, he is expected to set a date for the trial to start. While Trump's legal team is looking for a lengthy delay, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is urging the judge to start the trial as soon as possible.
Monday is also the deadline for Trump to post a $454 million bond to appeal the decision in his civil business fraud trial.