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| Reuters |
The criminal trial in New York is scheduled for March 25 in the courtroom of Judge Juan Merchan, who previously rejected an attempt by Trump's defense to dismiss the charges against him, arguing that it would interfere with the election campaign of the Republican favorite to the White House.
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The Manhattan prosecutor's office charged the former president with 34 crimes in connection with $130,000 he paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign to hide an alleged extramarital affair, payments that Trump concealed with the collaboration of his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hold an oral hearing on Trump's presidential immunity on April 25, and its ruling will clarify whether he can be tried for his role in trying to reverse the 2020 election result during the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, or if, on the contrary, he is protected.
Previously, Trump appealed to the Court a decision of a lower court that rejected his argument of immunity and ruled that he should be prosecuted for trying to reverse the election result.
According to Trump's defense, the decision of the country's highest judicial forum is relevant to the New York criminal case because prosecutors seek to present as evidence some statements that the former president made while in office, the media point out.
Prosecutors indicated last month that they planned to present evidence of a "pressure campaign" by Trump in 2018 to ensure that Cohen did not cooperate with a federal investigation into the payments to Daniels.
The defense denied this Monday that such a campaign exists and assured that Trump's comments "fell within the outer perimeter of his presidential duty, for which it was essential to communicate with the public about matters of public interest."
Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, is the first former president to face a criminal trial.