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.
This was announced this Thursday by the judge of that city, Juan Merchan, after he rejected the former president's motion to dismiss the charges against him in this case.
The New York tycoon, favorite to become the Republican Party candidate to fight for the presidency once again, will be
the first former United States president to sit on the
criminal justice bench.
It is the first of four criminal cases against Trump
that will go to trial.
The other cases accuse him of trying to overturn the election results and illegally retaining classified documents at his Florida estate.
The trial comes in the middle of the election campaign, when Trump leads voting intentions in his party's primaries despite a number of court cases against him.
So far, the numerous legal fronts he faces - a total of 91 criminal charges - have not undermined his popularity, and polls show him the favorite in a possible duel against current president Joe Biden in November.
Donald Trump arrives at the New York court this Thursday for a hearing.
Photo: AFP
The charges
The billionaire
is charged with 34 counts related to paying $130,000 in 2016
to adult film star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford,
to keep her quiet
about an alleged extramarital affair dating back to 2006 and that the politician has always denied.
The payments themselves are not illegal, but Trump recorded them as "legal fees" in the accounts of his company, the Trump Organization.
Likewise, according to court documents, the magnate
bought the silence of third parties at least two more times
.
He paid $30,000 to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have information about the magnate's son from an extramarital affair, and another $150,000 to a woman who claimed to have an affair with the former president.
Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges against him on April 4 of last year and says he is the victim of a "witch hunt" to prevent him from returning to the White House.
The billionaire has not spared criticism of Judge Merchan, who already filed another case in 2022 against the family business for tax fraud.
"HE HATES ME," he said on his Truth Social platform.
Experts
do not believe that it will be easy for the prosecution to prove the accusations
against the former president, so it is uncertain whether he could be sentenced to prison.
The announcement of the fine to be imposed by Judge Arthur F. Engoron, who investigated another case for tax fraud, is scheduled for Friday, and which could rise to 370 million dollars as claimed by the prosecution, which would be added to the more than 80 million who has recently been sentenced to pay for defaming a writer who accused him of raping her in the 90s.
Source: Agencies