Donald Trump failed to have a hush money payments trial against him thrown out

Donald Trump will become the first former American president to face trial on March 25 when he faces off against a Manhattan jury over the question of whether hush money payments to Stormy Daniels were campaign finance contributions.

Donald Trump speaks to the press at Manhattan Criminal Court after a hearing in his case of paying hush money to cover up extramarital affairs. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump failed to convince a Manhattan court to delay or throw out his trial for making ­alleged hush money payments that breached campaign finance laws, putting the former president on track for a March 25 trial that could produce a politically damaging conviction as he campaigns for a second term in the White House.

Mr Trump, 77, was charged in April by District Attorney Alvin Bragg with 34 felonies, marking the first time a former president had been indicted, and guaranteeing Mr Trump will face at least one jury – and potentially a maximum four-year jail term – ­before election day in November.

The hush money charges, based on whether a payment from Mr Trump of $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 qualified as a hidden, and therefore illegal, campaign finance contribution, pose a significant threat to Mr Trump, who could not pardon himself even if re-elected, unlike in separate criminal charges against him related to mishandled documents and election interference.

“Instead of being in South Carolina and other states campaigning, I’m stuck here. It’s an election interference case. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it in this country. It’s a disgrace, it’s a disgraceful situation actually,” Mr Trump said after he left the courtroom.

Mr Trump, who has derided the hush money allegations as a political witch-hunt built on obscure and untried legal theories pushed by a Democrat attorney-general, will face a jury in Manhattan, a jurisdiction where more than 86 per cent of voters supported Joe Biden in 2020, in a trial expected to last between four and six weeks.

The former president, expected to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, could take a significant political hit if convicted of any criminal charges, according to most polls that show independent voters would be less likely to support him if he were convicted.

The former president’s average lead of five percentage points over Mr Biden in national polls flip to a deficit of two percentage points if convicted, according to an NBC poll published last week.

The setting of the court date, the first firm trial date of the four criminal indictments Mr Trump is facing, came as another of the indictments against him hung in the balance after accusations of corruption against Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought racketeering charges against him related to election interference.

Fulton County District Attorney Fanni Willis testifies during a hearing in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday. Picture: AFP

A defiant Ms Willis defended herself in an Atlanta courtroom on Thursday (Friday AEDT) and attacked Mr Trump’s lawyers, who have argued she hired her boyfriend to lead the prosecution against Mr Trump and benefited financially from that decision.

“You’re confused, you think I’m on trial,” Ms Willis said in ­response to a questions from lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, who has led the push for the Georgia DA’s disqualification, which could, if granted, see the entire indictment thrown out. “These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.”

The hours-long interrogation of Ms Willis was focused on when her relationship with chief prosecutor Nathan Wade began, and to what extent he had paid for their holidays together.

“Let’s be clear, 2022 was the start of any intimate sexual relationship with the District Attorney,” Mr Wade said. “Our relationship wasn’t a secret, it was just private.”

Setting of court dates for Mr Trump’s other looming trials has been held up by appeals ­related to the question of presidential immunity, which the Supreme Court is set to resolve in coming weeks.

The former president’s legal problems could continue on Saturday morning (AEDT) when a ruling is expected in his civil fraud trial, in which he is accused of grossly inflating his properties’ values.

In that case he risks having to pay up to $US370m ($568m) and faces a ban from conducting business in New York state.