Judge Juan Merchan has ruled that Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels will be allowed to testify at Trump’s hush-money trial despite objections from President Trump.
In two separate issued decisions, the judge addressed over a dozen requests from both sides regarding the exclusion of various evidence.
The trial, originally scheduled to commence next Monday, has been postponed for at least a few weeks due to the emergence of new pertinent documents. However, there remains a possibility that the case could proceed to a jury trial this spring, marking Trump's first criminal trial.
Merchan denied Trump's attempt to prevent the jury from hearing testimony from Cohen and all three individuals. However, he did impose some restrictions on what Sajudin and McDougal can testify about.
This ruling allows prosecutors to call Daniels, Cohen, McDougal, and Sajudin as witnesses at the trial, all of whom allege they were paid off concerning their scandalous accusations against Trump.
Merchan also determined that any testimony concerning Cohen's previous guilty plea would not serve as an opportunity for Trump's legal team to introduce evidence regarding dismissed FEC complaints against him or the Justice Department's choice not to pursue charges for campaign finance violations.
The judge's rulings on Monday also addressed several other evidentiary disputes between the two parties.
On Monday, Merchan ruled that Trump is prohibited from presenting or implying a “presence-of-counsel” defense.
Merchan clarified that his ruling on selective prosecution does not preclude either party from attempting to impeach any witness during cross-examination.
Due to a last minute dump of documents, Merchan postponed the trial until at least mid-April, with a March 25 hearing scheduled for discussions of the new documents and an updated schedule.
