In a significant development in the hush money case involving former President Donald Trump, a judge will hold a consequential hearing on Monday to determine who is responsible for the unexpected delay in the trial. Originally scheduled to begin on the same day as the hearing, the trial has been postponed until at least mid-April due to the late disclosure of over 100,000 pages of records by federal prosecutors.

Judge Juan Merchan will preside over the hearing in a New York courtroom, where the parties involved will debate whether the newly revealed documents warrant further delays or possible sanctions. The judge aims to ascertain why the records were not turned over earlier.

The case, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), charges Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to reimbursements made to his former fixer, Michael Cohen. Cohen had paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 just prior to the 2016 election to maintain her silence about an alleged affair with Trump. While Trump denies the affair, he has acknowledged the reimbursements and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Trump has repeatedly sought delays in his criminal cases, in an apparent effort to regain the presidency and halt or prolong his prosecutions. Legal experts believe that the hush money case is the most likely to reach trial before November.

The trial's March 25 start date, which the judge had previously affirmed at a hearing, seemed to be set in stone. However, this changed when the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York delivered 119,000 pages of records this month, raising questions about the timing. Both sides are now attributing blame to each other for the delayed disclosure.

Trump's lawyers have accused Bragg of failing to meet their discovery obligations and are demanding that the judge dismiss the entire indictment or impose other sanctions as a result. However, legal experts predict that the indictment will not be dismissed, witnesses will not be excluded, and attorneys will not be sanctioned. It is widely accepted that the trial should not have proceeded as planned on Monday.

Tensions have escalated between the parties, with both sides accusing each other of fabricating facts. Trump's lawyers argue that New York state obstructed the process of obtaining discoverable materials while Bragg's office claims it unsuccessfully sought the documents from the U.S. Attorney's Office months ago.

Prosecutors have urged the judge to avoid further delays and schedule the trial for April 15. They argue that Trump has been evading accountability in the case for over a year, citing his attempts to intimidate the grand jury and the District Attorney's Office.

The newly disclosed documents are related to Cohen's federal criminal case and are expected to form a crucial part of the trial, with Cohen acting as a star witness for Bragg. Trump's lawyers have already attempted to block his testimony, portraying Cohen as an unreliable and dishonest witness.

The contents of the documents and whether they contain any material advantageous to Trump remains uncertain. Prosecutors have stated that their review is ongoing, and so far, they have identified fewer than 270 relevant documents that were not previously disclosed to Trump.

As the hearing takes place, legal experts and observers are keenly awaiting any potential exculpatory information or Brady material (favorable to the defendant) that may have been withheld. The outcome of the hearing could potentially have far-reaching implications and further complicate the trial proceedings.