NEW YORK – Donald Trump is in a New York City courtroom Monday morning to begin the criminal trial in which he is accused of falsifying business records while paying an adult film actress via his attorney to avoid pre-election publicity about their affair.
In this criminal trial, Donald Trump faces possible prison time, if found guilty, of scores of felonies for business records fraud. He is accused of funneling $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels through a series of payments. She claims that years ago, as Trump was married to Melania Trump who had just given birth to a son, they had a sexual encounter. Instead of paying her straight up, he used Michael Cohen, his lawyer at the time, to funnel the money from Cohen’s personal accounts. He apparently paid her fees, to avoid the story going public during an election, through a series of payments, thus resulting in business fraud and election interference. Allegedly, there are checks signed by Trump and audio recordings implicating him, along with a slew of witnesses ready to to tell salacious details. The trial could take many weeks to complete. Donald Trump arrived at the courthouse in New York City this morning and immediately was in front of cameras holding a press conference. He blasted the system for attempting to hold him accountable for his alleged actions, as he has done in all his other cases, most of which he has lost or are still in litigation. In the courtroom, however, Judge Juan Merchan, who has been the victim of countless Trump attacks, refused to be recused from the case, and set about jury selection.
Currently, Trump faces at least these particular court cases:
– Defamation of E. Jean Carroll in which he’s already been found liable for sexual assault years ago in a New York City dressing room and ordered to pay the victim over $80 million. This is a civil case he is appealing, yet has continued to attack the victim.
– New York state bank fraud in which he’s already been found liable and ordered to pay upwards of $465 million for defrauding banks and cheating other financial patrons out of opportunities to get their loans. This is a civil case he is appealing.
– A criminal case in Florida for hoarding top secret documents and refusing to return them, possibly hiding them. 40 felonies.
– A criminal conspiracy case in Washington, D.C. connected to the January 6 attack on the capitol, for coordinating the attempt to stop the transfer of power to Joe Biden, who beat Trump by millions of votes.
– Trump had his mugshot taken after being arrested in Georgia for election interference there, when he pressured state officials to find just enough votes to overtake Joe Biden. This case was stalled but appears to be moving forward after his lawyers attacked the prosectors’ relationship.
This circus will continue as the 2024 election heats up. Trump will likely hold numerous news conferences and post relentlessly to his Truth Social media platform, which recently became a publicly-traded company. The stock has tanked ever since, with some calling it a “pump and dump” scam to funnel money to the cash-strapped former President who still claims to be a billionaire.
Trump inside the court. (Photo by Angela Weiss – Pool/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/OTwigxDQVV
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 15, 2024
There are no cameras in the courtroom, but a sketch of what’s happening behind closed doors, courtesy of artist Christine Cornell. pic.twitter.com/1GNixIrtSi
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 15, 2024
Breaking: The prosecution is asking Trump's attorneys to argue why Trump shouldn't be held in contempt for violating the judge's gag order.
The prosecution argues that Trump's efforts continue to this day, including spreading falsehoods and attacking Michael Cohen.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 15, 2024
We sold “Trump Bibles” at the Trump rally yesterday. pic.twitter.com/BoveGNKBKA
— The Good Liars (@TheGoodLiars) April 14, 2024
This guy is told by the judge to keep his comments about the jurors, prosecution, the judge’s family and witnesses to himself. He doesn’t do so and is surprised and angry when he is rebuked. He says it is a political witch hunt. Wonder what he would do if he was suing someone and that person started to threaten him. I know what he would do and so do most Americans. He thinks there are two sets of justice in this country….one for him and one for everyone who disagrees with him.