Prosecutors in Manhattan are proposing a 30-day delay in Trump’s trial

Less than two weeks before Donald J. Trump is set to stand trial on criminal charges in Manhattan, prosecutors who brought the case proposed a delay of up to 30 days, a surprising development in the first prosecution of a former U.S. president.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which accused Mr. Trump of covering up a sex scandal during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, said the delay would give Mr. Trump’s lawyers time to file a new lawsuit. view documents. The agency only recently obtained the records from federal prosecutors, who years ago investigated the same hush money payments at the center of the case.

The possible postponement of the trial, which is expected to begin with jury selection on March 25, would mark the latest delay to Trump’s expansive legal docket, which includes four criminal cases and several civil lawsuits.

The Manhattan case against Mr. Trump, who secured his third Republican presidential nomination this week, is expected to be the first to go to trial and could be the only one to do so before Election Day.

A criminal case against Mr. Trump in Washington, where he is accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results, was initially scheduled to go to trial this month, but that has been postponed while Mr. Trump appeals to the Supreme Court.

A delay in the Manhattan case would most likely delight the former president, whose central strategy to combat all his legal entanglements is to delay the case as long as possible. If he is elected to a second term in November, criminal cases against him will come to a standstill until he is no longer in office.

Still, the judge overseeing the Manhattan case, Juan M. Merchan, will have to approve the delay, and he has made a point of moving the case forward every step of the way. It is unclear when he will rule. And until he does, it’s unclear what impact Trump’s other cases might have.