Donald Trump faces a criminal trial, which is a historic first for a former president. He appeared in a Manhattan Court facing charges stemming from hush-money payment to a porn star. Trump’s legal team has filed legal motions to delay or derail four criminal cases against him. The 2024 Republican candidate is required to attend the trial, which is expected to last through May.
Trump faces 88 criminal charges in four court cases, two in federal courts, and two in state courts. The first case is hush money to Stormy Daniels to silence her about a sexual encounter they had in 2006. The case stems from a $130,000 payment to Ms. Daniels from Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, accused Trump of trying to conceal a violation of election laws by recording the payment as monthly legal fees in his real estate company’s books. Trump pleaded not guilty on April 4, 2023, to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels but acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment. Trump has called Cohen a “serial liar,” Cohen’s credibility has been expected to be an issue in the trial.
On Jan. 26th a Manhattan jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll in her defamation lawsuit against him. In the mid-1990s trump sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll. Trump denies having any encounter with her and accused her of making the story up to sell her memoir. On May 9th, 2023 another jury ordered Trump to pay $5 million to Carroll for defamation.
(Information source: Reuters.com)