He criminal trial against Donald Trump for money-related charges paid a porn star to keep her silence will begin April 15a magistrate indicated on Monday.
Republican presidential candidate could be convicted or acquitted before the November elections in the United States.
The trial between Donald Trump and actress Stormy Daniels.
The date practically guarantees that Trump will become the first former president of the United States in facing a criminal trial. trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide the payment of $130,000 from his former lawyer Michael Cohen to silence actress Stormy Daniels.
Daniels claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade before his attempt to silence her, a version that the former president denies.
The delay of Donald Trump’s trial
Jury selection for the case was initially scheduled to begin Monday, but Judge Juan Merchan delayed it on March 15almost a month afterTrump’s lawyers will accuse the Manhattan district attorneyAlvin Bragg, who brought the charges, of trying to bury documents that could help them cast doubt on Cohen’s credibility.
The documents come from the US attorney’s office in Manhattan.which previously investigated the payment but did not indict Trump. Cohen testified that Trump ordered him to make the payment and went to prison after pleading guilty to violating campaign finance laws.
What happened at the court hearing
In a court hearing On Monday in a New York state court in Manhattan, Merchan was skeptical of Trump lawyer Todd Blanche’s argument that Bragg’s office engaged in misconduct, and asked the lawyer why he didn’t request the documents from the federal prosecutor’s office sooner.
Blanche responded that the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Sunday it would provide additional documents. related to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Donald Trump’s other legal cases
The case is one of several legal problems facing Trump, 77, while intensifies his 2024 campaign to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden at the polls.
The Republican faces others three criminal caseswho focus on their efforts to reverse his 2020 loss to Biden and his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office in 2021.
Source: Ambito
