Trump to face jurors in April before facing US voters in November

(Reuters) - A New York judge's decision yesterday to set an April 15 trial date for Donald Trump's criminal hushmoney case ups the odds the former president will face at least one verdict that could complicate his bid to retake the White House on Nov. 5.

In another New York courtroom on Monday, a ruling in a separate case bought Trump some financial breathing room as he tries to build a campaign war chest and keep his real-estate empire intact.

The twin rulings highlighted the multiple legal perils that the Republican candidate faces as he tries to take back the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden.

In the hush-money case, Trump stands accused of criminally altering business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.

Trump's lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to help him win the election.

After Justice Juan Merchan set the April 15 date, Trump boasted the case could bolster his campaign, telling reporters at one of his nearby properties: "It can also make me more popular because the people know it's a scam."

Trump accused Biden of waging a legal witch hunt against him and accused the judge of corruption without providing evidence of either.

Republican strategists say voters have grown accustomed to his norm-shattering behavior, but a guilty verdict could hurt his ability to win over swing voters who decide elections.

Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls have found that a quarter of Republicans and half of independents said they would not vote for Trump if a jury convicted him of a felony.

Trump has said he should not have to stand trial while running a political campaign, and his lawyers have filed a blizzard of motions to delay or derail the cases.

As it stands now, only the New York case is guaranteed to go to trial before November.

Trump also faces two criminal trials accusing him of trying to subvert his 2020 election loss to Biden, and another that accuses him of mishandling classified information after he left the White House in 2021.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. All of those cases involve weightier allegations than the New York case, which stems from attempts to cover up an alleged extramarital affair.