Dem
51
GOP
49
In a last-ditch effort to avoid going on trial later this month, Donald Trump's lawyers made a motion to delay his hush-money trial until after the Supreme Court rules on the presidential immunity case now on the Supreme Court's docket. The judge countered with an offer to delay it until after the next solar eclipse, which happens to be April 8. No, actually the judge didn't offer that, but it makes as much sense. The hush-money case is about trying to hide payments made to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about a short affair she had with Trump, which she described as the worst 90 seconds of her life. The affair happened before he was president and while the cooking of the books did happen after he was inaugurated, that doesn't relate to any official actions he took as president. Cooking your company's books is not part of the job description of being president.
In any event, Judge Juan Merchan rejected the motion and confirmed that the trial will begin on April 15, as scheduled. This could be the only one of the four cases in which Trump has been criminally charged that goes to trial and gets a verdict before the election (see below). Still, it creates the possibility that Trump will be a convicted felon on Election Day. For voters who aren't paying attention, the possibility that Joe Biden will be running ads telling everyone that Trump is a convicted felon could be actual news that might move some votes. (V)