The trial date of the first of four criminal cases filed against former US President Donald Trump has been announced. The first hearing of the criminal case filed against Trump on charges that he paid a “hush fee” to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 Presidential elections was set for March 24 by Judge Juan Merchan.
“IF I HAD NOT PUT MY CANDIDATE, THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED”
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked Merchan to reconsider his decision to hold the hearing on March 25, citing scheduling issues with other cases. “To say that you’re going to sit in this courtroom in Manhattan for no apparent reason is pure election interference,” Blanche said.
Merchan replied, “He will not be in more than one criminal case at the same time. Please stop interrupting me.” Judge Merchan rejected Trump’s request to dismiss the case, paving the way for the first trial of a former US President.
Before the hearing, Trump reiterated his claims that the case was politically motivated and said, “This would never have happened if I had not run for president and my election campaign was not going well.”
“Hush PAYMENT” PAYMENT!
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.
(UAV)