Donald Trump to face ‘hush money’ criminal trial: What’s it all about?
Al Jazeera
New York Supreme Court has ruled case over alleged payments to adult movie star and former Playboy model will proceed.
The New York County Supreme Court has dismissed Donald Trump’s attempt to have a criminal case accusing him of paying hush money to an adult movie star and a former Playboy model thrown out. The criminal case, which was filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in March last year and which alleges that he falsified business records to cover up the payments, will now go ahead as planned on March 25. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has already been coordinating with defence lawyers and Manhattan prosecutors to oversee jury selection for what will be the first trial of a former US president in history.
Prosecutors say the Trump Organization paid “hush money” to prevent embarrassing stories about Trump’s personal life from surfacing during the 2016 presidential election.
Trump is facing 34 felony counts (criminal charges) relating to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The 34 felony charges include the following:
