The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump went to Manhattan court on Feb. 15, 2024, trying to knock his criminal hush-money case off its March schedule. He did not get that relief. The court’s media notice said the date for jury selection and trial remained March 25, 2024, after the hearing before Justice Juan M. Merchan. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/PSNY_V_Trump.pdf))

The hearing was another reminder that Trump’s White House campaign does not automatically pause a state criminal case. His lawyers had pressed for a delay, arguing that the trial should not move forward on the current timetable. Merchan left the schedule intact. The result kept the case on track toward what would be the first criminal trial ever scheduled for a former U.S. president. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/PSNY_V_Trump.pdf))

Trump has tried to turn every courtroom setback into a political argument, and this one fits the pattern. But the ruling was narrower than the rhetoric around it: it did not decide the merits of the charges, and it did not resolve every future scheduling fight. It simply kept the case moving toward March 25, with the same deadline still hanging over Trump as he campaigns. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/PSNY_V_Trump.pdf))

That matters because the hush-money case is now running on two tracks at once. One track is criminal procedure, with deadlines, motions and a jury pool. The other is a presidential campaign that would rather not have a trial date in the middle of it. For now, the court has made clear that the campaign does not control the calendar. The case stays where it was set, and Trump has to deal with both realities at the same time. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/PSNY_V_Trump.pdf))