New York: Donald Trump will become the first former US president to face criminal charges in three weeks, a judge ruled on Monday, hours after an appeals court threw the tycoon a lifeline in his bid to fend off an unrelated half-billion-dollar embezzlement. civil judgment for fraud.
New York Judge Juan Merchan rejected requests by Trump’s lawyers to further delay his trial on charges of paying the porn star and ordered jury selection to begin on April 15.
The Republican presidential candidate has denounced the upcoming trial and other cases brought against him as “election meddling” by Democrat Joe Biden, his likely opponent in the November White House ballot.
“I don’t know how you can have a trial that’s happening right in the middle of an election,” he said. “It is not fair.”
Trump has been targeted by prosecutors for a series of alleged crimes, from falsifying business records in a money laundering case to attempting to sway the 2020 election, becoming the first president in modern US history to refuse to admit and incite a mob. supporters march to Congress.
While Trump has successfully forced delays in his other trials, Merchant’s decision Monday sets the stage for the shocking spectacle of the former president — and strong second-term candidate — potentially becoming a criminal.
Asked by reporters if he would take the witness stand in a money laundering case, Trump said he “wouldn’t mind testifying.”
Trump, 77, got better news in a separate New York appeals court ruling in his civil fraud case that reduced a potentially crippling $454 million bond payment to just $175 million with 10 days left to pay.
Trump faced a Monday deadline to post a huge original bond pending an appeal of a New York state judge’s ruling that he is liable for a fraudulent conspiracy to inflate his net worth.
Trump had risked New York authorities seizing parts of his real estate empire if he failed to create a bond, but the appeals court decision gives him some breathing room.
“I have a lot of respect for the decision of the Appellate Division and very quickly, within 10 days, I will send $175 million in cash and bonds or securities or whatever is needed,” he said.
Trump wanted to buy the silence of Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, as reports of an extramarital affair with the porn artist could be devastating, coming just after the married businessman was heard on tape boasting that he was free to “catch” as a celebrity women behind the genitals.
A visibly irritated businessman pushed back against a request by Trump’s lawyers to further delay the already delayed trial for at least 90 days.
The delaying tactic has a clear goal: if Trump regains the White House, he could order the Justice Department to drop his federal charges — or even, potentially, pardon himself.
Trump faces dozens of charges related to his alleged plot to sway the 2020 election, as well as his hoarding of top-secret documents taken from the White House.
After teetering on the brink of financial disaster, Trump received positive financial news last week when it was announced that his app Truth Social would finally go public through a merger. This transaction could bring him billions of dollars.
The merger catapulted Trump into the top 500 richest people in the world with a net worth of $6.4 billion, Bloomberg reported.
However, according to regulations, he cannot draw funds from the merger for six months.
