Trump Hush Money Case: Trump faces a crucial criminal case hearing in Manhattan

Trump, who is expected to attend Thursday's hearing, is facing 91 charges on four counts by prosecutors in Washington, Florida, Georgia and Manhattan as he tries to hold on to the Republican presidential nomination.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg was the first to obtain charges against Mr. Trump. He accused him last year of covering up a possible sex scandal surrounding the porn star during and after the 2016 elections. Mr. Bragg, a Democrat, has presented his case not as a condemnation of dirty financial dealings but as an example of Mr. Trump's meddling in elections by hiding crucial information from voters.

Until recently, another criminal case involving allegations of election interference was the first to go to trial. That case, filed in federal court in Washington by a special prosecutor, Jack Smith, centers on Trump's attempt to cling to power after his 2020 election defeat.

Mr. Bragg had indicated his willingness to take the Washington case a step further, underscoring its historical significance. But calls from Mr. Trump postponed that trial, initially scheduled for March 4.

Here's what else you need to know about Thursday's hearing:

• Mr. Bragg's case is best known for its salacious facts: During the 2016 campaign, porn star Stormy Daniels threatened to go public with her story about a tryst with Mr. Trump, who then authorized a $130,000 payout to get her to keep quiet. Paying hush money is not necessarily illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying data to hide a possible scandal from voters.

• The case could be thanks to the word of Trump's former fixer, Michael D. Cohen, who paid Ms. Daniels just days before voters went to the polls. Once Mr. Trump was elected, he paid Mr. Cohen back. This is the conduct at the heart of the case. Mr. Cohen, the prosecution's star witness, is expected to testify that Mr. Trump allowed his family business to falsely record payments to Mr. Cohen as legal fees.

• Mr. Trump's lawyers have argued that Judge Merchan should dismiss the case, deriding it as a “picked-apart package of politically motivated charges marred by legal flaws.” They have also disputed whether the charges should be felonies. Mr Trump has accused Mr Bragg of launching a witch hunt against him.

• This week is a dangerous one for Mr. Trump. A day after Judge Merchan holds his hearing, another New York judge is expected to make a final ruling in Trump's civil fraud case. The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, is weighing the New York attorney general's request to fine Trump nearly $370 million and effectively drive him out of New York's business community.

• In addition to the criminal cases in Manhattan and Washington, Mr. Trump faces federal charges in Florida, also filed by Mr. Smith, over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. In the Georgia case, Mr. Trump is accused of trying to undermine the 2020 election results in that state. On Thursday, at the same time Mr Trump is expected in Judge Merchan's courtroom, there is a hearing in the Georgia case involving a romantic relationship between the two prosecutors leading the case.