Government: Judge postpones trial of Chinese billionaire

U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick agreed to the government's request to move the start of the trial of Ng Lap Seng to late June, prosecutors said in a letter responding to a defense submission earlier in the day.

Defense lawyers have argued in court papers that the prosecution is politically motivated, saying the United States wanted to block construction of the U.N. center in China because it wanted to slow the progress of Chinese influence over developing nations.

In a letter to the judge Sunday, defense lawyer Tai H. Park did not oppose the government's Friday request to put off the trial for 30 days so it could argue that newly discovered classified materials related to the case should not be required to be turned over to the defense.