Former President Donald Trump arrives at a Manhattan felony court docket on Thursday in New York.
Mary Altaffer/AP
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Mary Altaffer/AP
Former President Donald Trump arrives at a Manhattan felony court docket on Thursday in New York.
Mary Altaffer/AP
New York Choose Juan Merchan has rejected an try and dismiss the costs within the hush cash case towards former President Donald Trump, and a jury trial will start as initially scheduled on March 25.
The case was introduced by Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg, who charged Trump with 34 felony counts final 12 months, alleging he falsified New York enterprise data with a purpose to conceal damaging data earlier than the 2016 presidential election. That included hush cash funds to grownup movie star Stormy Daniels, who was threatening to go public with fees that she had had an affair with Trump not lengthy after he married Melania Trump. Trump, who was current for Thursday’s court docket listening to earlier than Merchan, has denied the affair.
With this case, Trump grew to become the primary former president in U.S. historical past to be criminally indicted.
Trump pleaded not responsible and has referred to as the investigation and fees, with out proof, a politically motivated ”witch hunt.”
The trial is predicted to final six weeks, so Trump, the present front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, could must be within the courtroom and never on the marketing campaign path as the final election towards President Biden, the present Democratic front-runner, kicks into full gear. The fees have carried out little to dent Trump’s recognition amongst his base. As a substitute, they seem to have bolstered his recognition.
After the trial date was set Thursday, the Make America Nice Once more PAC rapidly despatched out an e mail criticizing Bragg’s document on New York Metropolis crime.
Trump is dealing with a mixed 91 state and federal fees, together with a number of associated to his position to remain in workplace after he misplaced the 2020 election to Biden. This could possibly be Trump’s first felony case to advance to the trial section. It might additionally overlap with a federal election interference case in Washington, D.C. — relying on how and when the Supreme Court docket guidelines on Trump’s presidential immunity arguments associated to that case.
Throughout Thursday’s listening to Choose Merchan famous he had spoken to Choose Tanya Chutkan, who’s overseeing the election interference case, about timing in that trial earlier than shifting ahead with setting a date for his New York trial.