The trial of former US President Donald Trump, accused of criminal offenses in connection with the bribery of porn star Stormy Daniels, will begin next March.
A New York court judge made the ruling at a hearing on Thursday (February 15) seeking to quash the indictment against Trump. Trump is the first former US president to face such a trial. BBC reports.
Trump sat in silence as Judge Juan Marchan announced the verdict, the BBC reported.
During the announcement of the verdict, Judge Juan Marchan said that Trump's criminal case will begin on March 25 in the Manhattan court. The trial is expected to take six weeks to complete.
Trump's lawyers, seeking to dismiss the charges, said the charges brought against Trump were politically motivated and unconstitutional. Judge Marchan rejected Trump's lawyers' arguments outright. A porn star was bribed 130,000 dollars to not open up about a sexual relationship before the 2016 election, a serious allegation, the judge wrote.
However, one of Trump's lawyers, Todd Blanche, said that this decision to initiate a trial against Trump is a great injustice. He said that this kind of judgment before the presidential election is an interference of the court in the election.
Trump is far ahead in getting the Republican Party's nomination for the November 2024 United States presidential election. The former president's lawyers tried to delay the pending criminal case against Trump until the election.