Former President Donald Trump is expected to attend Thursday’s hearing in the New York hush money criminal case, according to Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney for the Georgia election subversion case.
Trump had considered traveling to Georgia on Thursday for a hearing in the criminal case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis but is now planning to attend the hearing in New York, multiple sources familiar with the matter said.
Both hearings are scheduled to begin at 9:30a ET.
Initially, Trump was intrigued by the idea of traveling to Georgia if Willis was forced to take the stand and answer questions under oath about allegations she engaged in an improper romantic relationship with her top deputy, Nathan Wade, one of the sources told CNN.
A judge on Monday did not rule out the possibility that Willis will have to testify but made clear that is contingent on what other witnesses say first.
Trump’s advisers made the case that the New York hearing is more important as it is a criminal case that directly impacts him, according to a source familiar with internal discussions.
Trump was charged last March with falsifying business records to commit or conceal another crime. Prosecutors allege that the former president engaged in a cover up scheme to hide reimbursement payments made to his former attorney, Michael Cohen who had paid hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels to stop her from going public about a past affair with Trump before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 charges and denied the affair.
The hearing in Fulton County is largely viewed by those advisers as procedural despite the possibility of Willis taking the stand and facing disqualification.
As always, senior advisers warned that Trump could still change his mind last minute and decide to attend the hearing in Georgia, however that is not currently the plan.
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