"A conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential elections" by buying the silence of three people.
It is the accusing castle disputed a Donald Trump in a historic Manhattan court hearing, first former US president to finish under criminal investigation and state of arrest, though he was spared the handcuffs and mug shot he intended to use as an election poster.
Prosecutor Bragg: 'We cannot normalize criminal conduct regardless of who committed it'
“Trump has repeatedly and fraudulently falsified corporate documents in New York for cover behaviors criminals aimed at hiding incriminating information from voters during elections 2016 elections“, the district attorney explained at a press conference Alvin Bragg unveiling i 34 charges: all crimes, even if class E, the lowest level, with a maximum penalty of 4 years in prison. “We can't and we don't want to normalize serious criminal conduct, everyone is equal before the law,” he added.
Turns out Trump has paid for silence of the porn star Stormy Daniels and the former Playboy bunny Karen McDougal – with whom he had had relationships ten years earlier – as well as that of a doorman of the Trump Tower who threatened to reveal his alleged illegitimate child. Furthermore, the prosecutor recalled, Trump reimbursed those payments to his handyman lawyer Michael Cohen as fictitious "legal expenses", with checks signed in the Oval office. The prosecution argues that the reason he committed the crime of falsifying company records was in part to "promote his candidacy."
Donald Trump pleads 'not guilty'
In a crowded Manhattan courtroom, Donald Trump declared himself not guilty for all 34 charges against him.
“He pleaded not guilty – said his lawyer, Joe Tacopina, in an interview with Fox News – he spoke the words himself. I thought it was a good thing for him to do and he wanted to do it." “What we didn't expect – he added – is that they would present the indictment without going into details”. Tacopina called it "upsetting that a state attorney would try to prosecute something as subtle as this." The lawyer spoke of “political persecution” and a “armed justice which honestly makes me sick.” Tacopina repeated her belief that this case will not go to trial. “I don't think – she concluded – that we will arrive before a jury. I think this case will drop before we get back to that point."
Trump instead accused the district attorney Bragg: "It is financed by Soros" and on the investigation for interference in the 2024 vote he said: "It should be immediately closed". "The Atlanta prosecutor's investigation is a false case for interfering in the 2024 elections, it should be closed immediately": said Donald Trump speaking to his fans in Mar-a-Lago after the indictment in NY, defining "perfect ” the phone call in which he lobbied to overturn the vote in that state
Trump: 'My only crime was to defend America'
“I never thought something like this could happen in America. The only crime I committed was defend America by those who want to destroy it". Donald Trump said this speaking from the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. His supporters welcomed him shouting “Use! USA""
Even before appearing in the highly armored Manhattan court, Trump had swiped (social) left and right: against a "partisan judge" who "hates me", a "show trial" to be moved to a non-hostile neighborhood like Staten Island ( the only one from the Big Apple who voted for him in 2016 and 2020, ed), a "witch hunt" ordered by Joe Biden and the ruling Democratic Party "which today arrests its main opponent for not having committed any crime ”. "The Democrats on the radical left have criminalized the use of the justice system, this is not what America should be," he attacked in Truth.
The next hearing, with Trump present, is set for December 4
The next hearing in which Donald Trump will have to appear in person in the Manhattan courtroom has currently been set for December 4th. Cnn reports it
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump rising among Republicans from 44% to 48% while his main potential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, falls from 30% to 19%.
