'Dizzying and confusing': Legal expert says hush money development left onlookers bemused

A likely delay in the Manhattan hush money prosecution of former President Donald Trump has created an extra cloud of confusion over everything, said former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams to CNN's Brianna Keilar on Thursday — but he added the trial is still the most likely of the four to be held prior to the 2024 election.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is charging Trump's alleged payments to adult movie actress Stormy Daniels as felony business fraud in service of an illegal campaign finance scheme, said he is open to a 30-day delay "in an abundance of caution" so that Trump's team can review documents provided by federal prosecutors that could expose new details.

"So, it's just interesting when you look at the cascading effects on the other cases here," said Keilar, suggesting that Bragg's delay could have knock-on delays to the other trials. "And how you're expecting it could actually force some, obviously, beyond the election.

"And how it could force some out of the spotlight of just people registering what is going on, because what we do know is that a lot of voters — it doesn't, it doesn't even register for them, really, what Trump is charged with or accused of doing in many of these trials."

Williams concurred with Keilar's assessment.

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"It's very dizzying and confusing, I think, to many voters, citizens, whatever else," said Williams.

"And it's important to note that our elections happen on a timeline, and litigation, prosecutions happen on a totally separate timeline. And it can take sometimes years to bring matters to trial. What's notable here is that this was the prosecution that was probably the most likely to happen in the first place, if at all. And so the mere fact of a delay is significant in that it pushes the inevitable trying of a matter of Donald Trump even further, if not beyond Election Day.

"But again, all the prosecutors have asked for here is 30 days, and we'll see what the judge does with that," he added. "It's not an indefinite postponement of the trial, and the judge hasn't granted it yet, so we'll see what he does."

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