Former President Trump is facing a trial in New York City stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into alleged hush-money payments ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts. The trial is being presided over by Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan, and Trump’s legal team filed a motion requesting that Merchan be recused from the trial due to allegations of bias against the former president.
Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree related to alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. The DA alleged that Trump engaged in a ‘catch and kill’ scheme to conceal damaging information from the voting public. The charges allege Trump falsified business records with the intent to defraud and violated state and federal election laws during the campaign period.
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York investigated the hush-money payments in 2019 but opted not to charge Trump. The Federal Election Commission also closed its investigation into the matter in 2021. According to Bragg, Trump orchestrated a scheme involving payments to individuals who had negative information about him or alleged relationships. The charges also involve reimbursements made to these individuals through false entries in business records.
Bragg further alleged that American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, was involved in the payments made to individuals with damaging information about Trump. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, pleaded guilty in 2019 to arranging the payments and was sentenced to three years in prison. Cohen maintains that Trump directed the payments and was involved in the scheme to conceal the transactions from the public.
The trial was initially set to begin in March but was delayed due to new evidence turned over to the prosecution and the defense. Trump’s legal team sought to further delay the case, arguing that the trial should not take place until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the issue of presidential immunity. The appeals court upheld the denial of Trump’s request for a delay, and Merchan imposed a gag order on the former president.
Trump contends that he is immune from prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his time in office, and his lawyers argue that evidence in the hush-money case overlaps with his time in the White House. Merchan also granted Bragg’s request and imposed a gag order on Trump, while the former president’s legal team raised concerns about potential bias due to Judge Merchan’s daughter’s Democrat-affiliated work. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges in all four cases against him.
