Trump attempted to discredit the merits of the case in a series of Truth Social posts hours before arriving in court Monday.
Topline
Former President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on his hush money trial before it began Monday, arguing the case is a violation of the statute of limitations, and Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan should lift the gag order against him, just hours before he arrived in court.Key Facts
Trump, referring to the case as “the Biden Manhattan Witch Hunt Case,” said it should be “BARRED by the Statute of Limitations,” he wrote, questioning why the case wasn’t brought “7 years ago,” when prosecutors say his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, allegedly paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to silence her allegations of an affair with Trump ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump and his lawyers have repeatedly argued the 34 felony falsifying business charges he faces were filed outside of the five-year statute of limitations, but the timeline for bringing criminal charges was extended by more than a year during the pandemic, and prosecutors could also argue the five-year clock was paused whenever Trump spent extended periods living in Florida.
