A criminal trial of former US President Donald Trump in the case of concealing payments to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election began in New York City on Monday, April 15. Arriving at the courthouse in the morning, Trump gave brief comments to the press, in which he called the case against him "an attack on America," UNN reports with reference to Voice of America.
"There has never been anything like this before," Trump said. "This is political persecution... This is a case that should never have been brought.
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According to media reports, Trump is accused of having paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels a month before the 2016 presidential election, so that she would not publicly reveal her story of an extramarital affair with the former president. Trump denies that the affair ever took place.
The prosecutors accuse the former president of illegally reimbursing Cohen for the payment to the porn star and listing it as "legal fees" in the Trump Organization's reports.
"This is an attack on America. And that's why I'm very proud to be here. This is an attack. It's an attack on our country. And this is a country that is going to collapse. This is a country that is being run by an incompetent person who is very involved in this case. This is really an attack on a political opponent. That's all it is. That's why it's a great honor for me to be here," the former president added before the start of the court hearing.
Trump also said that "every legal scholar" has recognized the case against him as "ridiculous," although, as noted by Western media, this is not true.
"There's no case, and I've said before that people who don't necessarily follow or like Donald Trump have said it's an outrage that this case was brought," the former president added.