The twice-impeached Republican is the first sitting or former American president to be criminally indicted.
Earlier in the Manhattan courtroom, he answered “not guilty” to all charges in a clear voice, sitting with hunched shoulders and at times looking annoyed but mostly listening cooperatively.
“ELECTION INTERFERENCE”
Judge Juan Merchan said a trial could potentially start as soon as January – a month before the presidential primaries kick off – although Trump’s lawyers have indicated they would want it pushed back to next spring.
In a spectacle that played out on live television – with rival protesters rallying outside – the hearing marked a watershed moment for the US criminal and political system.
A crowd of hundreds had gathered, with pro-Trump protesters – sporting “MAGA” hats and attire emblazoned with the American flag – yelling slurs at their opponents.
Trump for years rejoiced in his reputation as a playboy but has always denied the tryst with Daniels, which would have occurred just after his third wife Melania gave birth.
In a rambling, conspiracy theory-laden tirade to his supporters, he described Merchan as a “Trump-hating judge” and denounced Bragg for what he called “massive election interference at a scale never seen before in our country”.
But he spent much of his speech mocking several more serious investigations he faces, repeating previously-debunked allegations about being treated differently from previous presidents.
They include his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state of Georgia, his alleged mishandling of classified documents taken from the White House and his involvement in the storming of the US Capitol on Jan6, 2021.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
