Trump pleads not guilty to criminal charges at manhattan court
Former US President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts during a court hearing at the New York Criminal Court on Tuesday, April 4th.
Trump had been indicted by the Manhattan grand jury in a case relating to his alleged role in paying hush money to a porn star to bury a sex scandal during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg’s office, according to reports has been investigating the former president in connection with a USD 130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the last days of the 2016 election campaign.
The money was allegedly intended to buy her silence about the encounter she says they had years before.
Trump had arrived at the Manhattan district attorney’s office earlier in the afternoon, where he was placed under arrest and in police custody before the court hearing, CNN reported.
Together with his lawyers, he stood before Judge Juan Merchan as prosecutors outlined their case against him.
The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said a total of 11 cheques were issued and nine of them were signed by Trump: “Each cheque was processed by the Trump Organization and illegally disguised as a payment for legal services.”
He mentioned three individuals who received hush money payments “adult film star Stormy Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal and a former Trump Tower doorman who he claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock.”
To all these accusations, Trump pleaded “not guilty.”
Judge Juan Merchan set the next hearing for December 4th, 2023 although it is not certain if Trump will be required to appear.
