Former US President Donald Trump on his way to the press after a hearing in the hush money trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court.
Image: AFP
Former President Donald Trump has achieved a small success in the trial over hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. The court decided to postpone the start of the trial for 30 days.
DThe Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump has gained time in the New York trial over an alleged hush money payment to a porn actress. Judge Juan Merchan decided on Friday to postpone the start of the main trial, which was originally scheduled for March 25, by 30 days. Trump's lawyers had asked for 90 days and pointed to tens of thousands of pages of new documents released by the Manhattan district attorney's office in March. There was initially no statement from Trump.
The postponement is likely to be seen as a victory for Trump. There are several cases underway against the Republican, in which he rejects all allegations without exception. Critics accuse him of wanting to delay it until after the election in early November. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in February found a quarter of Republicans and half of independents would not vote for Trump if a jury found him guilty. In polls, he is effectively tied with the Democratic incumbent Joe Biden.
In the current case, a grand jury indicted Trump for falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. His former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her silence about a sexual encounter with Trump. According to her account, this is said to have taken place in 2006. Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels but acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for his payment to her. A statement from Daniels – whose real name is Stephanie Clifford – was not initially available on Friday.
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