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A date has been set for former US President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial to begin.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan scheduled jury selection for March 25. The judge denied Trump’s request to dismiss charges in the case.
Trump appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court for the hearing Thursday. He will be the first US President to stand trial in a criminal case and could face up to four years in prison if found guilty.
BetOnline plans to offer numerous prop bets on the trial, which will be the first of potentially four trials involving the former President. Trump faces 91 felony counts in four criminal cases in Washington, New York, Florida, and Georgia.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to a payment his then-lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about her alleged sexual tryst with Trump, who at the time was the Republican nominee. Trump is again running for President and is currently the front runner to win the nomination. Former UN Ambassador and one-time South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley remains in the race.
The recent postponement of a March 4 trial date in Trump’s Washington, D.C. election interference case allowed for the New York case to move up on the calendar.
Trump’s legal team accuse Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, of bringing the case to interfere with Trump’s Presidential campaign. Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., declined to pursue a case on the same allegations.
Of the four indictments, the New York Hush Money case is often -and ironically - considered the "least sexy". The matter was initially considered as a misdemeanor under New York law based on falsification of business records. But the charges can be elevated to felonies by alleging they were committed with the intent to defraud such as by committing another crime or concealing another crime.
It is unlikely that this trial will be televised as New York State does not permit cameras, with limited exceptions, in court rooms.
BetOnline currently offers odds on the number of Trump guilty counts with 4 the favorite for the Washington 2020 Election January 6 case, 11-13 in the Georgia Election Interference case and a whopping 25 or more in New York.
BetOnline does not believe Trump will serve any prison time. In fact, they have him as a -4000 "lock" not to do so.
Likely prop bets will include Trump pressers after each day, including mentions, as well as witness testimony appearing in the court transcript. Dare we say it, whether Daniels makes any reference to Trump's tallywacker.
The lack of cameras in the court will likely limit the number of prop offerings, however.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
