Judge Juan Merchan has set a trial date of March 25, 2024, for the New York criminal case against former President Donald Trump.
The announcement of the trial date was set during a brief hearing Tuesday in which the judge read Trump an order on what he can and cannot say publicly about the case and evidence his legal team will get from prosecutors to prepare for trial.
Trump appeared remotely via video feed so the judge could communicate with him in open court.
Trump spoke only once to say that he did have a copy of the protective order -- which limits what the former president can post on social media sites. He did not speak the rest of the time, and his screen was muted through most of the hearing. He did appear animated at several points however, including when the trial date was announced.
Trump pleaded not guilty last month to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records with the intent to conceal illegal conduct connected to his 2016 presidential campaign. The criminal charges stem from District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into hush money payments, made during the 2016 campaign, to adult film star Stormy Daniels who alleged an affair with Trump, which he denies.
Earlier this month, Merchan signed off on a protective order, which in part said that case evidence prosecutors give Trump's defense team may not be shared or posted to "any news or social media platforms, including, but not limited, to Truth Social, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, or YouTube, without prior approval from the Court."
Trump can only view some evidence designated by prosecutors as "limited dissemination materials" in the presence of his attorneys and cannot "copy, photograph, transcribe, or otherwise independently possess" that evidence per the order.
At a hearing before the protective order was finalized, Trump's attorneys and prosecutors from the district attorney's office debated the details, including the rules governing how much of the case material taken from the cell phones of witnesses, such as former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, could be viewed by Trump.
Prosecutors specifically asked that Merchan advise Trump on the record of the parameters of the protective order and what conduct it prohibits.
The former president has repeatedly made negative public comments and social media posts about the district attorney, potential trial witnesses and the judge in this case. Prosecutors cited some of Trump's Truth Social posts in their request for a protective order.
Trump's attorneys opposed the protective order, arguing that it infringed on Trump's First Amendment rights as he makes another run for president in 2024.
Trump and his legal team can still talk about the case publicly because there is no gag order in effect. The protective order as it stands specifically restricts their public discussion and dissemination of case material given to the defense during the discovery process.
The parties may also nail down a trial date at Tuesday's hearing. Merchan ordered the parties to narrow down a start date sometime in February or March of 2024.
Trump's lawyers filed a motion to move the criminal case to federal court in Manhattan, arguing the crimes Trump is accused of committing are tied to his duties as president.
The defense request to move the case to federal court does not pause the state court's ongoing schedule. A hearing in federal court on that motion is scheduled for next month.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
