A judge in New York decided today that the former president will be charged next month for payments he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in an attempt to hide allegations of adultery.
Trump is charged with breaking the law by allegedly falsifying company documents to hide a $130,000 payment to Daniels that was made just before the 2016 election.
According to Trump’s attorneys, the contribution was not made to aid in his election victory but rather to save himself and his family from humiliation.
During the hearing, the defense presented allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, which Judge Juan Merchan dismissed.
If the scheduled date goes through, it will be the first of four criminal charges against Trump to go to trial while he launches his presidential campaign as the presumed Republican nominee.
Trump bemoaned the decision outside of the courtroom, calling the case an instance of “election interference”.
