(New York) The New York judge who must organize the future historic criminal trial of Donald Trump, charged since April with fraud, asked the prosecution and the defense of the former American president on Thursday to agree on a date between February and March 2024.
This procedural hearing of magistrate Juan Merchan, which was held at the Manhattan courthouse, means that a trial would be held at the time of the Republican Party primaries for the presidential election of November 2024, for which Mr. Trump is leading the polls in his conservative camp.
Once the date is set, all parties, including the former president of the United States, will not be able to plan anything else, demanded the New York State judge for Manhattan jurisdiction.
During an in-person appearance in Manhattan on April 4, Donald Trump was criminally charged with 34 tax accounting evasions related to payments to cover up embarrassing affairs ahead of the 2016 presidential election, including a sexual relationship with the film actress pornographic Stormy Daniels, which he has always denied.
Such a criminal indictment is unprecedented for a President of the United States.
But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case has been deemed by lawyers and politicians to be both legally “insignificant” and politically “risky.”
It is neither the legal payment of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, to keep her silent, nor the reimbursement of this sum that is reprehensible.
Instead, Donald Trump is accused of “falsifying accounting records” of his company Trump Organization by concealing these transactions in “legal fees”, in violation of New York State campaign finance laws.
The former tenant of the White House, who dreams of returning there, but who is surrounded by court cases, considers himself “innocent” and the victim of a political “witch hunt” in this criminal case.
