Former U.S. President Donald Trump.Photo:Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty
Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty
Donald Trump’s hush money trial is set to begin in April, with a judge setting a start date of April 15 to begin jury selection.
The trial comes following an investigation into an alleged hush money payment made to adult film starStormy Danielswhile Trump, now 77, was a presidential candidate in 2016.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg agreed to the delay to allow his own office to review additional documents it had received from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Trump, who is running for president in 2024 and is now the presumptive GOP nominee, is mired in legal issues in the lead-up to the election. He currently faces91 criminal countsstemming from four separate investigations, including the hush money case, which is set to be the first to go to trial.
In an indictment, prosecutors allege that Trump orchestrated a hush money scheme that lasted from August 2015 — two months after he formally announced his first run for the presidency — to December 2017, after he took office.
The indictment alleges that Trump asked his then-attorney to pay off women who were trying to sell stories about extra-marital affairs with him to the press. In doing so, prosecutors say Trump “violated election laws” and falsified business records.
As the indictment describes, Trump asked one of his former attorneys — widely assumed to be hisMichael Cohen— covertly pay “$130,000 to an adult film actress shortly before the election to prevent her from publicizing a sexual encounter” with Trump.
The adult film star in question, while not named in the indictment, is widely assumed to be Daniels.
Stormy Daniels on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’. ; Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on August 06, 2022 in Dallas, Texas.Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty ; Brandon Bell/Getty
Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty ; Brandon Bell/Getty
The indictment details another arrangement in which Trump allegedly worked with higher-ups at theNational Enquirerto silence another woman, who isrumored to be former Playmate Karen McDougal.
The indictment further alleges that Trump and Cohen ironed out the details of the scheme in the Oval Office at the White House, after he had been elected.
According to the indictment, after Cohen paid off the women, Trump paid Cohen back over time, with the lawyer submitting invoices for “services rendered” or labeled “retainer agreement” despite there being no retainer agreement in place.
Trump appeared in a Manhattan courtroom in April 2023 toplead not guilty to 34 felony countsof falsifying business records in the first degree following the investigation.
source: people.com
