History of the Hush Money Trial
The case beginning in mid-April is related to the payments that Trump made to adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the beginning of the 2016 election.
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The Wall Street Journal reported in 2018 that Trump arranged a payment of $130,000 to Daniels to keep their affair quiet while also falsifying financial records.
Current Charges Relating to the 2016 Incident
New York prosecutors will attempt to prove that Trump falsified business records to cover up the payment to Daniels. The source of the money has also been speculated to come directly from campaign funds.
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Critics of the trial have claimed that the proceedings are an attempt to squash the former president’s re-election efforts by keeping him busy in court.
New York Judge Rejects Request to Push Trial
In an attempt to move the trial out of his home state, Trump has tried every trick in the book to have his trial either delayed or moved to another, less Democratic, state.
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Trump was willing to go so far as to sue the judge presiding over his case. This case is just one of four major criminal trials that Trump is expected to face this year.
Details of the Lawsuit Against the Judge
Juan M. Merchan will oversee the case beginning on April 15th. Two sources close to the former president have corroborated that Trump attempted to deploy a lawsuit against the judge in an attempt to push the trial even further.
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He allegedly planned to file an action calling to the appeals court to overturn a gag order that Justice Merchan placed on Trump.
Reasons for the Gag Order
The initial reason for the gag order was to stop Trump from attacking any witnesses, prosecutors, or even the judge’s own family during the course of the trial. It has been speculated that the source of these attacks are meant to discredit the authority of the court.
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Trump took to a new social media platform, Truth Social, to throw a number of nasty insults both at the judge and his daughter, Loren Merchan. Loren has worked in the past with the democratic party and alongside President Joe Biden.
Further Efforts to Delegitimize Trial
The legal team representing Mr. Trump has made the process extremely drawn out and convoluted in attempts to have the trial pushed off all together. Now, the prosecutors have been forced to add strict measures to narrow down an impartial jury pool.
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Jurors will be asked invasive political questions such as where they get their news, what their thoughts are on the former president, if they’ve ever been to a Trump rally, or if they consider themselves to be a part of any extremist groups like Q anon or the Proud Boys.
Trump’s Delay Tactics Are Running Out
As the former president has a prolific team of litigators working for him, he’s been able to push multiple criminal trials back using appeals and frivolous legal challenges. He currently faces four criminal trials set to take place this year.
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Trump has even gone so far as to file a brief to the Supreme Court to belay his rights of presidential immunity. Claiming that the office of the president would be harmed in the future if a former Commander in Chief can face legal repercussions.
Trials in Florida Are Also Being Thwarted by Trump
Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump himself, also faces accusations of purposefully halting the legal process.
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In the Sunshine State, Trump faces charges of hoarding classified documents.
Judge González Shoots Down His Chances in New York
On Monday of this week, the representative of the former president claimed that he is unable to receive a fair trial in an overwhelmingly liberal city.
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Associated Judge Lizbeth González denied the motion to stop the trial and have it sent to a more republican led state.
Prosecutors Brought Charges in New York for Specific Reasons
When a person is charged with a crime in a certain place, it’s because that crime allegedly happened in the state of arrest.
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In the case with Trump’s election interference trial, the crimes also allegedly took place in Georgia. If the trial were to be moved out of the state, the proceedings would then be irrelevant to that state’s prosecutorial team and could become less of a priority.
Current President Is Sick of the Unwillingness To Cooperate
At a fundraiser in Chicago earlier last week, President Joe Biden made a statement about Trump’s lack of trustworthiness.
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Biden went on to state that he knows Trump is hiding from the courts as he knows he’s guilty and hopes that voters will do the right thing and hold him accountable.