Former US President Donald Trump will face his first criminal trial on March 25 in New York, accused of paying porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged extramarital affair.
Magistrate Juan Merchan announced his decision before Trump himself, who appeared in Manhattan court on Thursday to try, with his lawyers, to convince the judge to reject the charges – claiming that they would interfere with the electoral campaign -, which was rejected.
The trial will last about six weeks, Merchan confirmed.
The New York tycoon, favored to become the Republican Party’s candidate to once again fight for the presidency, will be the first former US president to sit on the bench of criminal justice.
It is the first of four criminal cases against Trump which will go to trial. The other cases accuse him of trying to overturn the election results and of illegally storing classified documents on his Florida farm.
The trial comes in the midst of the election campaign, when Trump leads voting intentions in his party’s primaries despite a series of lawsuits against him.
So far, the numerous legal fronts he faces – a total of 91 criminal charges – have not undermined his popularity, and polls give him the favorite in a possible duel against current President Joe Biden in November.
Donald Trump arrives in New York court on Thursday for a hearing. Photo: AFPThe accusations
The billionaire He is charged with 34 counts related to the 2016 payment of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to keep quiet on an alleged extramarital affair dating back to 2006 and which the politician has always denied.
The payments themselves are not illegal, but Trump recorded them as “legal expenses” in the accounts of his company, the Trump Organization.
Likewise, according to court documents, mogul purchased the silence of third parties at least twice more. She paid $30,000 to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have information about the tycoon’s son from an extramarital affair, and another $150,000 to a woman who claimed to be having an affair with the former president.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him on April 4 last year and claims he is the victim of a “witch hunt” to prevent him from returning to the White House.
The billionaire did not spare criticism of Judge Merchan, who already in 2022 had brought another case against the family company for tax fraud.
“HE HATES ME,” he said on his Truth Social platform.
The experts They don’t believe it will be easy for the prosecution to prove the charges that weigh on the former president, making it uncertain whether he can be sentenced to prison.
The fine that will be imposed by Judge Arthur F. Engoron, who investigated another case of tax fraud, is expected to be announced on Friday and could rise to 370 million dollars, the prosecution claims, which would be added to the more than 80 million he was recently ordered to pay for defaming a writer who accused him of raping her in the 1990s.
Source: Agencies
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.