As expected, Donald Trump made his little way to a Manhattan criminal courthouse this Monday. The former President who is no stranger to court, was there to kick off his trial concerning the controversial “hush money” payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign — marking a historic moment as it is the first instance of a current or former president being involved in criminal proceedings of this nature.
Before his courtroom appearance, Trump also took to the social media platform Truth Social to voice his grievances about the case, alleging that it amounted to “election interference” due to its timing and launching personal attacks against Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the proceedings.
“Tomorrow morning I’ll be in Criminal Court, before a totally conflicted Judge, a Corrupt Prosecutor, a Legal System in CHAOS, a State being overrun by violent crime and corruption, and Crooked Joe Biden’s henchmen ‘Rigging the System’ against his Political Opponent, ME!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday night. He went on to say, he “will be fighting for myself but, much more importantly, I will be fighting for our Country.” (To note, there is no evidence President Joe Biden has any connection to the Manhattan prosecutors bringing the case against Trump.)
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Of course, Trump’s presence in the courtroom just before the trial commenced at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time was met with a flurry of media attention. Prior to entering the courtroom, he expressed his stance to reporters, denouncing the case as a “political prosecution” and an attempt to undermine him as a political figure.
If you're keeping count:
-Donald's stock just plummeted 15%.
-Judge Merchan just denied Donald's recusal request.
-Donald's delays failed and he’s forced to sit in a courtroom.It's not even 11 AM yet. Is he tired of winning?
Because he looks tired.pic.twitter.com/sNnVv2tGqm
— Mary L. Trump (@MaryLTrump) April 15, 2024
More On Why Donald Trump Is On Trial:
At the heart of the matter are 34 felony charges of falsifying bank records, centering on reimbursement payments made by Trump to his former attorney Michael Cohen. These payments were linked to Cohen’s settlement of $130,000 with adult film actress Stormy Daniels to conceal allegations of an affair with Trump.
Maintaining his innocence, Trump has entered a plea of not guilty in response to the charges brought against him, setting the stage for a legal battle that has captured widespread attention.