Donald Trump will face criminal trial from March 25 in the secret money case.
A New York judge on Thursday rejected Donald Trump’s request to dismiss criminal charges related to hush money paid to a porn star, paving the way for the first criminal prosecution against a former US president.
Justice Juan Marchan set a March 25 trial date for the case, which is one of four criminal prosecutions against Trump as he pursues the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 US election. Have been.
Trump, 77, had asked Marchant to dismiss a 34-count indictment accusing him of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Was.
But it took less than 10 minutes for Merchan to deny their request and confirm the March 25 start date. Before the hearing, Trump reiterated his claims that the case was politically motivated.
“They wouldn’t have brought it up except for the fact — not at all — except for the fact that I’m running for president and doing well,” Trump said in the hallway outside the courtroom.
The trial is scheduled to begin before the three other criminal cases Trump faces.
Trump may have effectively clinched the Republican nomination by that time. He has won the first four state nominating contests and opinion polls show him having a huge lead over his only challenger, Nikki Haley.
Trump has used his frequent court dates to help raise money for his presidential campaign, although this strategy is seeing diminishing returns after earning millions during his first appearance last year.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
A handful of protesters held signs condemning Trump and chanted “No dictators in the United States” outside the courthouse.
Trump’s political and legal calendars are increasingly overlapping ahead of his expected rematch with Biden, who defeated him in the 2020 election.
In a separate court hearing on Thursday, Trump’s lawyers will ask a Georgia judge to disqualify the prosecutor who charged him and several associates with crimes related to trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state . Prosecutor Fani Willis has admitted to having a romantic relationship with a lawyer on her team.
Trump also faces federal charges over his efforts to overturn his election loss in Washington and his handling of classified documents in Florida. Trump has declared himself innocent in all cases.
In a heated exchange, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche pressed Marchant to reconsider his decision to hold the hearing on March 25, citing scheduling issues with other matters.
“It’s pure election interference to say you’re going to sit in this courtroom in Manhattan when there’s no reason to,” Blanch said.
“He will not be facing more than one criminal trial at the same time,” Merchan said. “Please stop interrupting me.”
What is hush money case?
The Manhattan case centers on a $130,000 payment by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen to Daniels — whose real name is Stephanie Clifford — to get her to speak publicly about a sexual encounter she had with Trump a decade earlier, before the 2016 election. Can be prevented from. Trump has denied this happening.
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating federal campaign finance laws.
Prosecutors have said that Trump’s New York-based family real estate company recorded Trump’s 2017 reimbursements to Cohen as legal expenses, in violation of a state law against falsifying business records to conceal another crime. Is.
In this case, prosecutors say Trump was seeking to cover up violations of federal campaign-finance law as well as violations of a state law that prohibits promoting a candidacy through illegal means.
Trump’s lawyers argue that he was targeted for “selective prosecution”. Bragg’s office says anyone who had engaged in similar behavior would have been prosecuted, pointing to Cohen’s guilty plea.
Trump’s lawyers also argued that state prosecutors cannot use Trump’s alleged concealment of federal election law violations to justify falsified records charges, and that the state law does not apply to federal elections. .
Bragg’s office has said that the business records falsification law is not limited to cases involving state-level crimes, and the state law applies to both federal and state elections.
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