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- Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg initially secured the former president’s indictment, but preparations for the case slowed as a federal trial was scheduled first.
- The postponement of President Trump’s federal election interference case opens the door for the trial to take place in New York first.
Donald Trump’s hush money trial will proceed as scheduled, with jury selection beginning March 25, New York judge says, potentially making it the first-ever criminal trial against a former president for concealing payments. He said he was accused of falsifying business records for the sake of the company. To the women.
As he entered the courtroom, President Trump told reporters that he had committed no crime and that the charges were politically motivated. “These are terrible times for our country,” he said. “These are really dark times.” Told.
Despite being the least high-profile of the four criminal cases against Trump, the case comes at a time when potential Republican candidates are in the midst of primary season and Trump is once again campaigning for the White House. There is a risk of being sidelined while doing so. President Trump has argued that these lawsuits are being brought by his Democratic opponents to interfere with the election, but prosecutors have argued that Trump faces the same legal standards as anyone else. There is.
Manhattan hush money scandal attracts attention
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg secured the first indictment against Trump on 34 charges in March 2023.
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President Trump said Thursday that he wanted to campaign in South Carolina.
“They didn’t bring this up – no way – other than the fact that I’m running for president and I’m doing well,” Trump said. “Naturally we want a delay. I’m running for office. How can I run for office and sit in a Manhattan courthouse all day?”
The New York case was put on the backburner after Trump was indicted in two federal cases. But a federal election interference trial scheduled for March 4 has been postponed, with President Trump arguing in an appeals court that he is immune from the charges, paving the way for the New York trial to take precedence.
Marchan said he is taking advantage of delays in the federal election case to move forward with the hush money trial. The judge has long resisted the defense’s requests for an adjournment. “I’m glad I took that position because here we are, the D.C. case didn’t move forward,” he said.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche filed a lengthy objection, calling the trial “unconstitutional.” “To say, ‘I’m going to sit in this courtroom in Manhattan,’ is absolutely election interference,” he told Marchan.
“Stop interfering!” replied the judge.
Mr. Trump has maintained his innocence. If convicted, the maximum penalty for each felony is four years in prison, although first-time offenders typically receive shorter sentences or probation.
As hearings begin in Manhattan, a judge in Atlanta 1,360 miles away should dismiss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from her role in the massive election-extortion case against Trump and more than a dozen others over his affair with a private citizen. We have begun the process of determining whether The lawyer she appointed as special prosecutor in the case.
And President Trump is preparing for a judge’s ruling in a $370 million fraud lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general that found he inflated the value of his real estate. President Trump said he expected a decision on Friday.
more:Drama expected in President Trump’s election fraud scandal: Live updates from the Fani Willis hearings
President Trump denounces ‘zombie incident’ as politically motivated
Trump asked Marchand to dismiss the lawsuit, but the judge rejected his request. Mr. Trump said Mr. Bragg was a “politically motivated, disorganized man, marred by legal flaws, procedural deficiencies, discovery violations, and a persistent refusal to provide meaningful details about his theory of the case.” “I have filed a complaint,” he said.
Mr. Bragg’s predecessor, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., declined to press charges.
Trump’s lawyers, led by Todd Blanche and Susan Necheres, said: “The charges against President Trump stem from a massive investigation that has been on and off for five years and has cost New Yorkers millions of dollars. “I gave it,” he claimed. Former prosecutors at the office labeled the focus of the indictment’s charges the “zombie case” because they had repeatedly abandoned the theory, only reviving it when other investigations yielded no further results.” ” he said.
“I am pleased that the court denied the defense’s motion to dismiss and look forward to the future,” Bragg said in a statement Thursday. to introduce our case He will appear in court on March 25, 2025. ”
Prosecutors say Trump’s claims are ‘baseless’
Mr. Bragg’s office had previously called Mr. Trump’s claims about selective prosecution “meritless.” Prosecutors alleged that President Trump orchestrated secret payments to suppress negative information about a pornographic film actress and former Playboy model both before the 2016 election and after he took office.
“Donald J. Trump is charged with 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records as part of a widespread and corrupt criminal scheme to conceal harmful information from voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election. charges have been filed,” the Bragg team said. I have written.
Bragg also dismissed arguments that the incident was politically motivated.
“Defendant has repeatedly indicated that the normal rules of criminal law and procedure should apply differently here because he is a current presidential candidate,” Bragg’s office wrote. “Because the defendant has political power, this argument is essentially an attempt to avoid criminal liability.”
President Trump calls prosecutors ‘depraved and psychotic’
Mr. Trump arrived at the courthouse around 9 a.m. and after the hearing concluded, he reiterated his dissatisfaction with the trial. “I’ll be here during the day and campaign at night,” he said. In a rant to reporters, Trump accused New York City officials of trying to derail his campaign and complained about the city’s crime rate.
“It’s a rigged country,” Trump said, using the same phrase he applied to the election against him. “It’s an unjust city.”
Bragg estimates the trial could last up to five weeks, potentially putting Trump out of the campaign as states continue to hold primaries. In contrast to civil trials, where attendance is voluntary, criminal defendants are expected to attend trial.
The former president continued to slam prosecutors and judges in civil and criminal cases, calling Bragg “a depraved psychopath who truly hates America!” Marchand, a “Trump-hating judge,” asked to be removed from the case. But Machan remained.
Trump also wanted to move the case to federal court, where he could argue that he can’t be prosecuted for actions he took while president, as he has in other lawsuits. However, the request was denied.
“The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that this matter was purely personal to the President and a cover-up of embarrassing events,” U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein wrote in July 2023. Ta. “Hush money paid to adult film stars has nothing to do with president’s official business.” It does not reflect the president’s official colors at all. ”
What crime is Trump facing in New York?
The 34 counts relate to payments made by the Trump Organization to former personal attorney Michael Cohen for legal fees, according to the indictment and statement of facts released by Bragg.
Mr. Cohen arranged payments of $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels and $150,000 to Playboy model Karen McDougall to retract claims that he had a sexual relationship with Mr. Trump. Trump testified that 11 payments went to him, nine of which were signed by Trump.
Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations for his role in the incident and served time in prison.
Mr. Bragg’s office announced that Mr. Trump’s organization created a total of 34 false business records to hide the $130,000 payment. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she is willing to testify.
Under New York state law, falsifying business records can be a misdemeanor. However, the charge can be upgraded to a felony if the person alleges the crime was committed with fraudulent intent, such as to commit or conceal another crime.
‘The stakes are very high’: legal expert
Shan Wu, a white-collar defense attorney who represented former Attorney General Janet Reno, said prosecutors’ initial legal claims against Trump were “the least important” or “stupid in some ways.” Despite the commentary, he called this a serious incident.
“The stakes are very high,” Wu said. “There is certainly a possibility of a prison sentence.”
Karen Agnifilo, a former Manhattan prosecutor who is now in private practice, compared the local charges to mail and wire fraud charges at the federal level. “This is pretty serious and this certainly has value to bring,” Agnifilo said.
Wu, former FBI general counsel Andrew Wiseman and special counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors have each filed falsification charges against Trump for allegedly trying to hide information that could have compromised the presidential election. He said that the financial records and hush money he received were tools for suspicions of election interference. result.
“It was really about election interference,” Wu said.
Contributed by: Associated Press
more:Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen admits to submitting fake AI-generated case citations
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