Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday that »serious criminal conduct» will not be normalized after former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to a total of 34 criminal charges in the case of alleged bribery of porn actress Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels.
»No matter who it is: we cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct,» he said at a press conference, adding that under the charges, the former president allegedly violated New York state law, CNN reported.
Also, Bragg has indicated that participants in the alleged »scheme» involving Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, knew that payments to about three people who had negative information about Trump, including the porn actress, were »illegal».
During the hearing, the prosecution has alleged that the bribe to Daniels was part of a plan to suppress any negative information that would damage his 2016 election campaign. »He instructed (Cohen, the former president’s former lawyer) that if he could delay the payment until after the election,» he said.
Trump was indicted last week for the possible secret payment of $ 130,000 (more than 120,000 euros) to Clifford by the former lawyer of the former president Michael Cohen. Trump has thus become the first former US president to be indicted, which could end his aspirations to return to the White House in the elections scheduled for 2024.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
