APRIL 30, 2024:
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has been held in contempt of court and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. The judge warned that Trump could be jailed if he violates the order again. Prosecutors had alleged 10 violations, but New York Judge Juan M. Merchan found there were nine. Still, the decision Tuesday (April 30, 2024) is a rebuke for the Republican former president, who had insisted he was exercising his free speech rights. The ruling came at the start of the second week of testimony in the historic case.
APRIL 22, 2024:
NEW YORK (AP) — Opening statements in Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial are set to begin. The statements expected Monday (April 22, 2024) will set the stage for weeks of testimony about the former president’s personal life and placing his legal troubles at the center of his closely contested campaign against President Joe Biden. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016. It’s the first of Trump’s four indictments to go to the trial and the first criminal trial against a former U.S. president. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
APRIL 19, 2024:
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APRIL 18, 2024:
NEW YORK (AP) — Two jurors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial have been dismissed, one after expressing doubt about her ability to be fair and the other over concerns that some of his answers in court may have been inaccurate. The dismissals on Thursday (April 18, 2024) reduced to five the number of jurors who have been seated for the first-ever criminal trial of a former president. The setbacks in the selection process emerged during a frenetic morning in which prosecutors also asked for Trump to be held in contempt over a series of social media posts this week. Meanwhile, the judge barred reporters from identifying jurors’ employers after expressing privacy concerns.
APRIL 4, 2023:
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APRIL 3, 2023:
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump boarded his private plane Monday (April 3, 2023) and flew from Florida for New York ahead of his expected booking and arraignment as the nation’s largest city bolstered security and warned potential agitators that it is “not a playground for your misplaced anger.” Trump’s journey from his Mar-a-Lago club took him past supporters waving banners and cheering the former president as they slammed the case against him — stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign —as politically motivated. The scene is poised be quite different in New York, where Trump built a national profile in business and entertainment but became deeply unpopular as he moved into politics.
MARCH 31, 2023:
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, a historic reckoning after years of investigations into his personal, political and business dealings and an abrupt jolt to his bid to retake the White House next year. The exact nature of the charges was unclear Friday (March 31, 2023) because the indictment remained under seal, but they stem from payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. Prosecutors say they are working to coordinate Trump’s surrender, which could happen early next week. They are not saying whether they intend to seek prison time in the event of a conviction, a development that wouldn’t prevent Trump from assuming the presidency.
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