Trump hush money trial to start March 25, judge denies dismissal request

A New York judge on Thursday said that jury selection in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump will begin March 25.

The judge denied Trump’s request to dismiss charges in the case.

Trump will be the first former president to stand trial in a criminal case.

He is accused of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment his then-lawyer Michael Cohen gave porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about her alleged sexual tryst with the then-Republican presidential nominee.

Trump is currently the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination. In addition to the hush money case, he faces three other pending criminal cases, all of which have a chance of going to trial this year.

“This is not a crime,” Trump told reporters outside the courtroom, where he argued that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office filed the charges against him last year in the hush money case to harm his chances of winning the 2024 presidential election.

“This is being run by Joe Biden’s White House,” Trump said. “This is just a way of hurting me in the election.”

Trump, who denies having sex with Daniels, has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges in the Manhattan Supreme Court case.

This is developing news. Check back for updates.