POLITICS
Can Donald Trump stop the Stormy Daniels case trial before it begins?
The trial for former President Donald Trump’s Stormy Daniels case is about to begin, but some still hope he can put an end to it in the final hours.
Former President Donald Trump has continued his efforts to delay the start of his first criminal trial. In March of last year, the Republican became the first president in United States history to be indicted. On that occasion, the former president was charged in connection with the Stormy Daniels case.
Additionally, in 2023, he was indicted and arrested for the case involving classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago residence and two other cases related to his interference in the 2020 presidential elections.
The former president has fought to postpone his criminal trials until after Election Day in November of this year, hoping to once again reach the White House, which, he believes, will allow him to dictate his own destiny. However, despite his efforts, judges have rejected his attempts to delay, and with the trial set to begin on Monday, the outlook does not appear very favourable for him, but he still has some cards up his sleeve.
Will Trump be able to stop the Stormy Daniels case trial?
Judge Merchan has yet to rule on Trump’s demand for an indefinite delay due to “prejudicial pretrial publicity,” arguing that the immense public attention has led Manhattan residents to prejudge Trump’s guilt.
Furthermore, Trump has requested that Merchan recuse himself from the case due to his daughter’s employment at a progressive political agency. Last summer, the judge rejected a previous motion for recusal from Trump that focused on similar allegations. However, the former president’s attorneys now argue that the situation is different, as Trump is the Republican candidate for the presidency.
What is the ‘Stormy Daniels’ case in a nutshell?
According to the case presented by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, made a $130,000 payment to Daniels on behalf of the former president. According to Cohen’s testimony, the payment was to cover up an affair Trump had with Daniels. The payment was expected to prevent the news from coming to light to avoid damaging his 2016 presidential candidacy.
On 4 April, the former White House dweller was arrested upon arriving at the criminal courts of Manhattan, where he surrendered to authorities. In this case, Trump faces 34 charges of ‘First-degree Falsification of Business Records’. The former president pleaded not guilty.