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The trial against the former president continues, Trump is again found guilty of contempt of court

2024-05-07 09:01:29Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The trial against the former president continues, Trump is again found guilty of
Donald Trump

The judge in the New York criminal case against former President Donald Trump ruled again Monday that Mr. Trump violated an order barring him from attacking witnesses in the trial.

The judge pointedly warned Mr Trump that he could be jailed if he continued to ignore the court order. Judge Juan Merchan made the decision at the start of the third week of the trial, during which witnesses have been heard.

In this criminal case, the charges are for falsifying the Trump Organization's business records in order to conceal a payment of $130,000 to win the silence of pornographic actress Stormy Daniels.

Former President Trump has denied Ms. Daniels' claim of a sexual relationship between them, and has denied all 34 charges brought against him. But Judge Merchan warned Mr. Trump that violating the court order “is a direct attack on the rule of law. I cannot allow this to continue."

Judge Merchan said the "last thing" he wanted was to send Mr Trump to prison, but that he would do so if he had to. "You are the former president of the United States and maybe the next president," added the judge.

Judge Merchan imposed another $1,000 fine for violating the court order. Last week, he issued $9,000 in fines for violating the order nine times. Last week, the judge agreed that the sentence was too small for a billionaire like Mr. Trump.

The trial resumed on Monday, while the 12-member jury has yet to hear from the two key witnesses in the case - Ms Daniels and Mr Trump's former lawyer and political broker, now convicted of tax evasion and false statements, Michael Cohen. Jurors have heard a lot about both men over the past two weeks, but prosecutors have not given any indication of when they might be called to testify.

However, Jeffrey McConney, the former chief accountant at the Trump Organization, spoke during his testimony Monday about how Mr. Cohen sent invoices to the company in order to be reimbursed for the $130,000 given to Ms. Daniels. Mr. McConney said that some of the checks for Mr. Cohen were sent to the White House in 2017 after Mr. Trump became president so that he would personally sign them and then withdraw the corresponding amounts from Mr. Trump's personal account.

In total, Mr. Cohen was paid $420,000, including $130,000 as a refund of the amount taken from the lien on his home, to enable the payment to Ms. Daniels. The amount paid to Mr. Cohen was larger, with the intention that it would be enough to cover his tax expenses for these payments, as well as in the form of a bonus. Former President Trump has said the payments to Mr. Cohen in 2017 were for his legal work based on a services agreement for the Trump Organization. But prosecutors have said there were no such legal services, and Mr. McConney said he was never made aware of such a document.

Mr. McConney said he authorized the payments to Mr. Cohen without knowing exactly what they were for, but that he acted on the instructions of Allen Weisselberg, the former finance director at the Trump Organization, and Eric Trump, the second son of Mr. the former president.

Jurors were shown an email message from Mr. Weisselberg that said Mr. Cohen could be paid after he had "agreed with Don and Eric," referring to the former president and his son. Mr. Weisselberg is currently serving a five-month prison sentence for perjury during the civil lawsuit over Mr. Trump's business, while his son Eric sat alongside the former president in the courtroom on the 12th day of the trial.

“You were told to do something, and you did it?” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo asked Mr. McConney. "Yes," replied Mr. McConney. At the age of 77, Donald Trump has become the first former US president to face criminal charges. Prosecutors say the payments to Ms. Daniels were intended to keep her from talking about her alleged relationship with Mr. Trump as voters prepared to go to the polls eight years ago. Mr. Trump has denied the charges against him, but if found guilty he could be sentenced to probation or up to four years in prison. He is the expected candidate for president of the Republican Party for the elections to be held on November 5./VOA


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