The newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump (78), is facing a major challenge just before his swearing-in. Trump is required to appear in court for a hearing in a hush money case involving payments to a porn star.
The court is scheduled to pronounce sentence on January 10. However, the judge has indicated that he is unlikely to go to jail.
The court order comes less than two weeks before Donald Trump is sworn in as president on January 20. Trump had earlier denied the allegations of paying money to the porn star and called it a political conspiracy.
New York Judge Juan Merchan has indicated that Trump will not be sent to jail or fined, but may be given “conditional release”. In his order, the judge said that the President-elect can attend the hearing in person or virtually.
Justice Juan Merchan’s decision means Donald Trump will have to attend a court hearing just 10 days before his swearing-in on January 20, an unprecedented event in US history. No former or current US president has ever been charged or convicted of a crime before.
What Did Trump’s Team Say?
In a statement, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said, “There should be no punishment in this case.” Cheung argued that the baseless case should never have been brought forward and insisted that the Constitution demands its immediate dismissal.
Earlier, Trump had sought to dismiss the case against him, citing his victory in the presidential election. His team criticized the judge’s decision to sentence him and claimed that it was unfair. Trump’s defense lawyers argued that the case hanging over him during his presidency would hamper his ability to govern effectively.
However, Justice Merchan rejected Trump’s motion to dismiss the case on the basis of his election victory and set a date for sentencing.
Merchan emphasized that overturning the jury’s verdict would seriously undermine the rule of law. In his ruling, he said that granting a motion to dismiss the case because of Trump’s status as president-elect would require an extraordinary and rare exercise of judicial authority, which is unnecessary in this case.
What Is Hush Money Case?
The case revolves around allegations that Donald Trump had an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2006. The controversy made headlines during the 2016 presidential election. Daniels had allegedly threatened to make the incident public, after which Trump allegedly made a hush payment to her.
Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Daniels.
Earlier, Stormy Daniels, while testifying in court, told about her first meeting with Trump. She said that Trump was wearing silk pajamas and asked her about her career in the adult film industry.
Daniels further claimed that Trump asked if she had been tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
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