FORMER President Donald Trump sent a message from court to his wife on her birthday as his criminal trial for concealing money continues.
Trump took a break before the ninth day of the trial could begin to send a birthday surprise to Melania Trump, who had not shown up since the beginning.
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“I want to start by wishing my wife, Melania, a happy birthday,” Trump said outside the Manhattan courthouse, where jurors are deciding whether he falsified documents to secretly pay off his alleged mistress, Stormy Daniels.
Melania turned 54 on Friday.
“But I’m in court because of a rigged trial. It’s a fraudulent trial – terrible,” he added, as reported by Business Insider.
“He would be Cool be with her.”
Trump has repeatedly denied having an affair with Daniels or ordering a one-time payment of $130,000 through his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, to keep quiet about the affair.
Prosecutors allege that by making payments and covering them up, Trump “orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.”
The alleged affair between Trump and Daniels occurred in 2006, just a year after Melania and Trump’s wedding and while Melania was pregnant with their son, Barron.
The former president faces 34 criminal charges in this case – and is the first current or former president to be criminally charged.
The financial secrecy trial began in New York on April 15, but Melania has yet to step foot in the courtroom, despite some experts believing it could help Trump’s case.
And Melania didn’t change her habit on her birthday.
She was in warmer weather Friday, her husband said.
“She’s in Florida. I will go there tonight after this case is over,” Trump said outside the courthouse.
He added: “This case is horrible and unconstitutional.”
FOUR TRIALS
Former President Trump was indicted in four different criminal cases and charged with at least 88 crimes across multiple states.
The trial of silence in New York City is happening at the same time as the confidential Mar-A-Lago documents, the 2020 Georgia voter fraud and the 2020 federal election fraud cases undergo processing.
The trial investigating whether Trump tried to interfere in Georgia’s electoral count has been marred by an investigation into the top prosecutor’s relationship with a colleague.
And the Mar-A-Lago case was delayed due to several strange motions by the judge, which included providing specific instructions to the jury (before there was a jury) and long delays.
Trump has denied all criminal charges and allegations against him.
Day 8 of Trump’s Hush Money Trial
Testimony from David Pecker, former editor of the National Enquierer, dominated Trump’s trial on Thursday.
- Pecker told the jury about how Karen McDougal was paid, another woman who allegedly received $150,000 to keep silent about an affair with Trump
- He also explained that it was “standard operating procedure” to bury a story that could be unfavorable, like McDougal’s.
- The judge did not rule on Trump’s alleged violation of his gag order, which the judge imposed on him to prevent him from discussing the trial
Arguments and testimony during the first week of the trial established the opposing strategies of the prosecution and defense. Prosecutors argue that Trump tried to suppress negative stories so he could win the White House, while the defendant’s team claims he did nothing out of the ordinary.
ELECTION TIME
After winning enough delegate votes in the presidential primaries earlier this year, Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election.
He has already received 1,977 party delegates, miles ahead of his next the closest competitor, Nikki Haley, with just 97 delegates.
Although some state primaries have not yet been completed, Trump is expected to be named the candidate at the Republican National Convention, which will be held in July.
His appointment as party representative is controversial, given the tumultuous four years in the White House when he was first elected.
Mike Pence, Trump’s vice president while in office, made headlines in March when he publicly declared that he would not support the former president for another term.
“It should come as no surprise that I will not support donald trump this year,” Pence said Fox News last month.
He added that he also could not support President Joe Biden.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
