Trump’s hush-money trial date set for March 2024

NEW YORK: A New York judge has set March 25, 2024 as the trial date in the hush-money payment case involving former US President Donald Trump and adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump received the news during a hearing in the case on Tuesday, the BBC reported.

The payment of $130,000 was said to be used to prevent Daniels from going public about an alleged sexual encounter that she had with Trump in 2006.

The former President has denied that the affair happened, dismissed any wrongdoing, and charged that the inquiry is politically motivated.

Tuesday's hearing was the second time that Trump appeared in court for the case.

He was first arrested and appeared in a New York courtroom in April, where he was charged with 34 felony counts of fraud in a 16-page indictment.

Although providing the so-called hush money is not illegal, the case against Trump centres around how his former lawyer, who paid Daniels, had his reimbursement recorded in the former President's accounts.

Trump is accused of falsifying his business records in the first degree by saying the payment was for legal fees, reports the BBC.

In response to the development, Trump said on his social network, Truth Social: "They forced upon us a trial date of March 25th, right in the middle of the primary season... very unfair..."

March 2024 is set to be a busy month for Trump and the other candidates vying to become the Republican presidential candidate.

Candidates attend a series of conventions, primaries and caucuses in every US state and territory, beginning by early February and ending in or around June.