Donald Trump stepped out of his Manhattan Tower on Thursday morning as he prepared to appear in a New York court again to get the judge to dismiss the hush money case against Stormy Daniels.
And down in Georgia, Trump and his co-defendants on Thursday are requesting that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis be barred from presiding over their racketeering trial after her affair with one of the prosecutors in the case came to light.
Both are part of the former president's tactic to postpone the four simultaneous criminal proceedings against him, which involve 91 crimes, until after Election Day, when he could theoretically pardon himself as president.
The Stormy Daniels case is the first in a series of cases against Trump for falsifying business records related to paying porn star and former playboy Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about their affair in the weeks before the 2016 election to preserve.
Former President Donald Trump waves as he leaves his Trump Tower in Manhattan to appear in court on Thursday as his lawyers seek to have the hush-money case against Stormy Daniels dropped — or at least delayed until after the election
Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche arrives at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, on Thursday as the former president prepares for his trial in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case
The former president's lawyer, Todd Blanche, was pictured arriving at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Thursday morning before his client left his New York residence to go to court across town.
Judge Juan Merchan will be heard on Thursday by Blanche and fellow Trump lawyer Susan Necheles, who will plead with him to drop the hush-money case altogether. They claim that New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg targeted Trump for political reasons.
If the attempt to dismiss the case entirely is unsuccessful, Trump's legal team will seek to postpone the trial – as they have done in all four criminal cases he faces.
The tentative trial date for Trump's hush money payment case is set for March 25. But his team wants to postpone the date until after the election in November.
In March 2023, a New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on more than 30 counts related to business fraud, including payments to Daniels, whose real name is Karen McDougal, to keep her extramarital affair secret before the 2016 election.
But this case could have the least impact in terms of political fallout and possible prison sentences.
But Thursday's ruling will provide further insight into whether Trump will succeed in the Republican presidential nomination this spring or whether he will be derailed by a series of criminal trials during his campaign season.
Prosecutors allege Trump's 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels (pictured with Trump in 2006) was an illegal campaign contribution that allowed them to bring felony charges, not just a misdemeanor
Trump raises his fist as he acknowledges cameras and reporters as he leaves Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday, en route to a preliminary hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court in the case in which he is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records was accused
Trump's lawyers claim that New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg (pictured) targeted Trump for political reasons and that the hush money case should not include criminal charges
Trump will appear in a Manhattan court alongside Blanche and Necheles to question whether prosecutors can call the hush-money payment an illegal campaign contribution. Prosecutors are using this argument to make their case of falsifying business records against Trump a felony, not just a misdemeanor.
The former president is also facing cases in which he is accused of attempting to falsify the 2020 election results and mishandling classified documents after leaving office.
On Thursday, Trump and his co-defendants in Georgia are seeking to have Attorney General Willis barred from leading their election interference case.
The effort came after it was revealed that Willis was having an affair with one of the prosecutors involved in the case.
If Willis is successfully overthrown, Georgia's criminal case over Trump's attempts to undermine the 2020 election could be set back for months as new prosecutors take up the case.
Meanwhile, Trump and his co-defendants are seeking to bar Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (pictured) from presiding over their racketeering trial after her affair with one of the prosecutors in the case came to light
It's possible that a new team of prosecutors could change the charges against Trump and his allies.
Judge Scott McAfee will hear both sides in the Georgia case on Thursday, having already rejected prosecutors' request to cancel the hearing.
Co-defendants in the Georgia case argue that Willis and his colleague Nathan Wade had a conflict of interest in the case because they benefited financially from their reported agreement.
It is not clear whether Willis will testify on Thursday, while Trump appears in court in Manhattan on the same day.
Michael Cohen's lawyer provided an image of copies of two checks received by the former president's longtime fixer that he claims Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to send him payments to Daniels for to repay their silence