Judge Juan Merchan of the Supreme Court of New York has set the trial against former President Donald Trump for March 25, 2024 in the case of alleged bribery of porn actress Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty at the beginning of April to a total of 34 criminal charges, appeared on video this Tuesday at a brief hearing in which Merchan, in addition to announcing the trial date, informed the former president about the arrest warrant. protection that weighs on the case.
The former president, who has remained mute during most of the hearing, has transferred to Merchan that his legal team has the aforementioned protection order, which prevents the former president from commenting on the case on social networks, as reported by CNN.
Trump was indicted for the possible secret payment of $130,000 (more than 120,000 euros) to Clifford by former president Michael Cohen’s former lawyer. Trump thus became the first former US president to be charged, which could end his aspirations to return to the White House in the elections scheduled for 2024.
The case dates back to 2006, although it did not see the light of day until 2018, when Stormy Daniels pointed directly and publicly at the American magnate for an alleged extramarital affair that led to multiple legal derivatives.
The fact in question would not have been one of the many accusations of infidelity or even harassment leveled against Trump in recent years if it were not for the fact that in 2016, a few days before the elections that brought the Republican leader to the White House, Daniels received a payment of $130,000.
With this money, in which Trump’s then lawyer, Michael Cohen, mediated, the tycoon supposedly guaranteed Clifford’s silence. The actress alleges that she accepted the money out of fear for the safety of her family.