US: Trump denies 34 charges in first-ever prosecution of former president
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Donald Trump
Former US president Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges brought after an investigation into alleged “hush money” payments made ahead of the 2016 election.
Prosecutors allege that Trump made illegal payments to suppress negative information during his successful presidential campaign and falsified business records to conceal them, CNN reports.
It marks the first time that criminal charges have been brought against a former US president.
Trump surrendered at a New York courthouse yesterday, where he was arrested and then arraigned. He entered a plea of not guilty on all charges and was released, with the matter set to return to the court on Monday 4 December.
After his release, Trump travelled directly to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he gave a speech condemning the prosecution as politically-motivated and railed against the judge overseeing the case.
“I have a Trump hating-judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter work for [US vice president] Kamala Harris,” Trump said — despite being warned by Judge Juan Merchan not to make any comments which could “jeopardise the rule of law”.
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