Judge Juan Merchan made a new decision in the case filed against adult film actress Stormy Daniels, one of the four criminal cases filed against former US President Donald Trump, on the charge that she paid a “hush fee” during the 2016 Presidential elections. Judge Merchan banned Trump from speaking about the case.
Judge Merchan also barred Trump from making statements about lawyers, court staff, family members of prosecutors or lawyers that intend to interfere with the case, and prohibited him from making statements about potential or actual jurors. Judge Merchan recalled that Trump has a history of making “threatening, inflammatory, derogatory” remarks to people at all levels of the justice system, including jurors.
‘Hush PAYMENT’ CASE
Adult film actress Daniels stated that she signed an agreement with Trump in 2016 in exchange for a payment of 130 thousand dollars to remain silent about their relationship. Daniels had argued that the agreement was invalid because it was not signed by Trump. Trump denied Daniels’ claims. However, Michael Cohen, who was Trump’s lawyer before the 2016 election campaign, confirmed that he paid Daniels $130,000 from his own account on behalf of Trump. Cohen later claimed that Trump’s companies paid him back approximately $420,000, including bonuses. Cohen was detained on charges of “tax evasion” and “lying to Congress” during the investigation into Trump’s election campaign. He pleaded guilty to 9 federal charges, including campaign finance violations, and was sentenced to 3 years in prison in December 2018. .
On April 4 last year, Trump appeared before the judge in the case in which he was accused of falsifying financial records to cover up the payment in question, and after hearing the accusations against him at the hearing, he rejected all 34 accusations. The first hearing of the case will begin with jury selection on April 15. (UAV)
