President Trump's lawyers said the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office, which examined the hush money transaction, has sent them tens of thousands of pages of material in the last two weeks.
Trump lawyers called Michael Cohen's materials "exculpatory and favorable to the defense." Though some records are relevant, prosecutors said most of the newly given over material is “largely irrelevant to the subject matter of this case.”
Trump is accused of falsifying his company's records to disguise Cohen's payments to Stormy Daniels, who received $130,000 during the 2016 presidential campaign to suppress her accusations of an illicit sexual encounter with Trump.
Last year, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents and denied having sex with Daniels. The Cohen payments were legal expenditures, according to his lawyers, not a cover-up.
Trump lawyers allegedly triggered the evidence problem by subpoenaing the U.S. attorney's office for the full case file on Jan. 18, nine weeks before jury selection.
Last year, District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office requested the whole file, but the U.S. attorney only provided a portion. The district attorney's office said Trump's lawyers acquired such material last June and had time to seek federal probe evidence.
Short evidence-related trial delays are common, but any delay in a Trump case would be significant, with his other criminal matters in limbo and Election Day less than eight months away.
Trump's lawyers want the trial delayed until after the Supreme Court rules on his presidential immunity claims, which might apply to some hush money allegations and evidence. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments April 25.
Trump has repeatedly delayed his criminal prosecutions while running for president. “We want delays,” Trump told reporters before a Feb. 15 New York hearing. “I'm running for office. How can you run for office if you spend all day in a Manhattan courthouse?
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