Donald Trump expresses sadness as he arrives for hush money trial in America | US News
Former US president Donald Trump expressed his dismay as he entered court for his historic hush money trial, calling it a “very sad day in America”.
Trump criticized the trial as an example of “election interference”, labeling it as “very unfair”.
“People understand what’s going on,” he remarked, denouncing the trial as a “witch hunt”.
Despite securing the Republican nomination for the 2024 US presidential election, Trump lamented, “I’m here instead of being able to be in Pennsylvania and Georgia and lots of other places campaigning and it’s very unfair.”
His statements indicate that the trial will focus on Trump’s personal life.
A panel of New Yorkers – 12 jurors and six alternates – were sworn in on Friday following four days of jury selection, marking the first-ever criminal trial against a former US president.
Trump faces accusations of falsifying internal business records in an alleged scheme to suppress damaging stories during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The crux of the allegations revolves around a $130,000 (£106,000) payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer, to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from emerging near the election.
Read more:
Who is the porn star at the centre of Trump’s hush money case?
Prosecutors allege that Trump disguised the true purpose of such payments in internal business documents.
Trump denies any sexual encounter with Daniels, with his legal team arguing that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal fees.
He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
This hush money case marks the first of Trump’s four indictments to go on trial.
