The New York State Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a whopping $454 million payment. reduced the deposit from US dollars (419 million euros) to 175 million. US dollars (161.5 million euros) and gave the former president 10 additional days to pay this amount.
The unexpected positive news about his civil fraud case in New York came as the Republican presidential candidate sat in court for another case, a hearing on an upcoming criminal trial over alleged hidden payments to a pornographic actress for her silence.
Judge Juan Merchan rejected requests from Trump’s lawyers to delay the first ever criminal trial of a former president for at least 90 days and ordered jury selection to begin on April 15.
Mr. Trump is accused of falsifying accounting to hide payments to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels (Stormi Daniels). Manhattan prosecutors say he did it to protect himself from the release of damaging material about their affair during his 2016 presidential campaign.
“You’re literally accusing the Manhattan (District) Attorney’s Office and the people assigned to this case of prosecutorial misconduct and you’re trying to make me complicit in that,” a visibly agitated Mr. Merchan told Trump’s lawyers during the hearing in a Manhattan courtroom.
Trump was also given a deadline on Monday to post a hefty bond to appeal a fine for inflating the value of his properties.
The Republican leader, who is seeking to return to the White House in the November election, wants to challenge the February ruling by a New York civil court, which would automatically stay his execution.
But first he must pay the money into an account administered by the appeals court or post the full amount of bail, which his lawyers recently acknowledged he does not have enough money to do. As a result, Trump risked having New York state seize part of his real estate empire.
Trump, 77, welcomed the appeals court’s decision and denounced the ruling in the case over alleged hidden hush-hush payments as “election meddling” and a “witch hunt.”
“I very much respect the decision of the appellate division and I will pay 175 million very soon, within 10 days. US dollars…”, he told reporters.
He resented the fact that he would have to stand trial in a case involving alleged cover-up hush-hush payments while he was campaigning for the US presidency.
“I don’t know how it is possible to hold a trial that is taking place at the height of the elections. It’s not fair. It’s not fair,” said the former president, who intends to run against Joe Biden in the November election.
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2024-03-30 08:19:18