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Merchan keeps Trump’s hush-money trial on the calendar
Trump lost his bid to push back the March 25 start of his Manhattan hush-money trial, leaving the schedule in place after a Feb. 15 hearing in state court.
Edition · February 15, 2024
The Daily Fuckup: Feb. 15, 2024
Trump’s legal calendar got worse in two different courts, and neither one cared about his campaign schedule.
February 15 delivered a neat little reminder that court dates don’t bend for bluster. In New York, Judge Juan Merchan kept the hush-money trial on track for March 25. In Atlanta, Fani Willis’s explosive testimony turned a supposed Trump-side scandal into a live demonstration of how badly this mess can ricochet.
Closing take
Trump spent the day arguing for delay, distraction, and damage control. The courts mostly answered with dates, deadlines, and a lot of unpleasant attention he did not want.
Ranked by how bad the fuckup was
5 stars means maximum fallout. 1 star means a smaller self-own.
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Willis testifies at Georgia hearing over effort to remove her from Trump case
A Fulton County judge heard testimony on Feb. 15 in the fight over whether District Attorney Fani Willis or her office should be disqualified from the Georgia election interference case. Willis denied misconduct and defended her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, while the court took up motions that could still affect the prosecution.