Donald Trump appears before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday to hear the charges for which he will be prosecuted in the case of a black payment to buy the silence of a porn actress, in the first criminal charge against a former US president.
The 76-year-old Republican arrived in New York on Monday aboard his private plane from his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, where he reiterated his allegations that he is the victim of “a witch hunt” in the midst of a campaign to reach back to the White House in the 2024 elections, in which this accusation has erupted with unforeseeable consequences.
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The object of two impeachment attempts by the US Congress when he was president (2017-2021), Trump is summoned to the Manhattan Superior Court at 2:15 p.m. (7:15 p.m. GMT), although he is expected to arrive earlier, where like any accused citizen he will have to submit to fingerprinting and photography.
Colombian-born judge Juan Merchán -who was also an instructor in another case against the Trump Organization for tax fraud at the end of last year- He will read you the charges for which you will be prosecuted, which until now have remained sealed.
This magistrate “HATES ME,” Donald Trump wrote on Friday. Judge Merchán will read the accusation to you and may ask you if you are going to plead guilty or not guilty.
According to his attorney Joe Tacopina, he will not be handcuffed, but he may have to walk the halls in the presence of the media. If you are asked, Donald Trump will plead “not guilty,” his lawyer said.
Who is Merchan?
Merchán came to the United States when he was just 8 years old. He lived in the district of queens in New York, and worked as a newspaper delivery boy and dishwasher before becoming a judge.
A New York Times profile tells that Merchán also worked in zipper and toy factories before studying and graduating from the Law School of the Hofstra University in 1994. Initially he worked as a lawyer and later became a jurist.
Merchán accumulates 28 years of experience in the stands, of which 13 have served on the New York County Supreme Court.
