Takeaways From Trump’s Hearing in the Criminal Hush Money Trial

Justice Juan M. Merchan determined in a hearing Thursday that Donald J. Trump must go on trial in a Manhattan courtroom next month to face charges that he covered up a potential sex scandal to aid his 2020 presidential campaign. The case, brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, will yield the first trial of a former American president.

Here are five takeaways from the hearing:

The Manhattan case is scheduled to begin on March 25.

This trial was originally scheduled to come after Mr. Trump’s federal election interference trial in Washington, which is now stalled by Mr. Trump’s immunity claims.

Justice Merchan said on Thursday that he conferred with the judge presiding over Mr. Trump’s federal case in Washington and decided to proceed with the March date. Mr. Trump also faces felony indictments in Florida and Georgia, although it is unclear whether those trials will proceed before the 2024 election.

The judge had no patience for Trump’s attempts at a delay.

Before the hearing, Mr. Trump was candid about his strategy, telling reporters, “We want delays, obviously,” adding that the trial was an attempt to interfere in the 2024 election. In the courtroom, his lawyers pushed for more time, calling the March 25 date “unfathomable” and “a great injustice,” and bringing up conflicts with the Republican primaries and caucuses.

This argument is not new to Mr. Trump, who has insisted for the past several months that trials have kept him from campaigning. Mr. Trump appeared at his past two Manhattan civil trials when his presence was not required and falsely claimed in fund-raising emails that he was being forced to attend.