For this episode of Trump's Trials, host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR's Andrea Bernstein.

An appeals court has cut the bond former President Donald Trump has to post from $454 million to $175 million in his civil fraud trial. The news came the same day as the deadline before the New York Attorney General could start seizing Trump properties to pay off the massive judgement. And in a separate New York court, a judge sharply rebuked Trump's lawyers in his hush money criminal case and set a trial date for April 15.

Topics include:
- How Trump bargained his way to a lower bond
- Trump's response to the criminal case against him going forward
- Next steps

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This week on Trump's Trials, host Scott Detrow and Domenico Montanaro are joined law professor Kim Wehle.

On the eve of what should have been the start of the New York hush money trial we dive into the details of the case:

Former President Donald Trump is facing 34 counts related to payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels over an alleged affair she had with Trump. The payments were made in the fall of 2016, just months before the election.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is claiming those payments are a form of election interference, with the theory being by paying off Daniels, Trump prevented information about the alleged affair from reaching voters.

The case has been delayed to give the Trump team time to sort through hundreds of thousands of documents.

Meanwhile, Trump's $454 million civil fraud judement is due in less than 48 hours. His lawyers are claiming they are unable to come up with the bond to pay the judgment. We look into what could happen if Trump does not pay the state of New York.

Topics include:
- New York hush money case
- Southern District of New York documents
- Civil fraud judgement due
- What happens if Trump can't post the money

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For this episode of Trump's Trials, NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with NPR's Andrea Bernstein.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says there's no reason former president Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial can't start next month. Last week Bragg agreed to delay the trial - originally scheduled to begin on March 25th - for 30 days due to an influx of documents from the U.S. Attorney's office. Trump's attorneys have been arguing for an even longer delay of 90 days.

Topics include:
- Reason for delay in documents being delivered
- Trump's response
- Next steps

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For this episode of Trump's Trials, NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with NPR's Andrea Bernstein.

Former President Donald Trump is claiming he cannot secure a bond for roughly half a billion dollars to cover the judgment from his New York civil fraud trial. Lawyers for Trump claim they approached 30 companies and four brokers and none were willing to give Trump the $454 million bond. Trump has until March 25th to file the bond or risk having some of his assets seized.

Topics include:
- Bond deadline
- Possible appeal
- Possible asset seizer

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This week on Trump's Trials, host Scott Detrow is joined by Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson and Georgia politics reporter Sam Gringlas.

Judge Scott McAfee ruled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can stay on the Georgia election interference case but only if she removes special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Wade later resigned in a letter to the district attorney.

Willis and Wade had come under fire for having a relationship that Trump and his co-defendants argued was a conflict of interest. Judge McAfee said in his ruling that the defendants did not meet the burden of proving the relationship was a conflict of interest but found "a significant appearance of impropriety" in the prosecution team.

And in New York, the judge overseeing the hush money case officially delayed the start of that trial to mid-April. Jury selection was originally set to begin on March 25.

Topics include:
- Nathan Wade resigns
- What decision means for the case and Willis
- Delay in New York hush money case

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For this episode of Trump's Trials, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with correspondent Greg Allen.

Judge Aileen Cannon held a pre-trial hearing where Trump's defense team argued two motions to dismiss charges against the former president in the classified documents case. Judge Cannon quickly denied one of the motions but has yet to rule on the other. During the hearing she appeared skeptical of both arguments presented by the Trump team.

Topics include:
- Presidential Records Act
- Espionage Act
- Trump in attendance

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For this episode of Trump's Trials, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Georgia politics reporter Sam Gringlas.

The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case has dismissed six criminal counts against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.

Three of those counts specifically apply to Trump. They all involve alleged attempts to solicit public officials to violate their oaths of office. An example of that is the telephone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, during which Trump asked the secretary to find him 11,780 votes to overturn the election.

Trump's now facing 10 criminal counts instead of 13. Prosecutors can re-file the dropped charges but it's unclear if they will.

Topics include:
- Possible new indictment
- What comes next for the case

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This week on Trump's Trials, host Scott Detrow and Domenico Montanaro are joined by Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson.

Carrie shares new reporting she has on the possible timeline for the federal election interference case. We also discuss Super Tuesday results and if exit polling gives us an indication on how Republican voters are thinking about former President Donald Trump's legal troubles.

Topics include:
- Timeline for federal election interference case
- Supreme Court's Colorado ballot decision
- Super Tuesday
- Update on classified documents case

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For this episode of Trump's Trials, we hear from NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.

The Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump can remain on the ballot in Colorado and other states. The justices concluded the constitution does not allow states to use the 14th amendment to bar presidential candidates from the ballot.

Topics include:
- Details on the majority opinion
- Split among the Justices
- Possibility of congressional enforcement

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This week on Trump's Trials, host Scott Detrow and Domenico Montanaro are joined by constitutional expert Kim Wehle.

This week the Supreme Court announced they will consider former President Donald Trump's claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution. That decision has left the federal election interference case in limbo, complicating the chances that the case will go to trial before the November election.

Topics include:
- Timeline for federal election interference case
- Why the Supreme Court is considering Trump's immunity claim
- Justice Clarence Thomas and recusal
- Update on classified documents case

Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for new episodes each Saturday.

Sign up for sponsor-free episodes and support NPR's political journalism at plus.npr.org/trumpstrials.

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