Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, said that the “hush-money” case against him was “insane” and “wrong” as the trial started on Monday.
“Obviously, it’s wrong. You should never see this in the United States of America,” Ms. Trump said. “It is ridiculous that they are dragging this man in a New York City courtroom. It is so clear how partisan this is that Alvin Bragg himself wouldn’t even take this case up until when? Until Donald Trump announced, he was running for president.”
Before entering the courtroom, President Trump told reporters that the trial was “an assault on America” and an attack on a “political opponent,” adding, “Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
He faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to allegedly cover up what has been described as “hush-money” payments to Stormy Daniels. The former president has pleaded not guilty and said he never had an affair with Ms. Daniels.
During the interview, President Trump’s daughter-in-law said former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance wouldn’t prosecute the case “because he said this is ridiculous.”
She praised her father-in-law for his courage in facing cases like this, noting that it often boosts his standing in the polls for the 2024 White House race and increases his fundraising.
“This is not the first time that my father-in-law has found himself in an unprecedented and completely unwanted situation like this,” she said. “It just shows you really how strong this man is that not only is he able to face these things and call them out for really how egregiously wrong they truly are. But every time you see this sort of thing happen to him, his poll numbers go up, people throw more support behind him.”
The RNC co-chair said the trial would impact President Trump’s ongoing presidential campaign as he has to divide his time between the courtroom and campaign rallies for about eight weeks.
The former president has repeatedly said the trial, along with three other separate criminal cases, is a form of election interference aimed at derailing his campaign.
On Monday, Justice Juan Merchan, presiding over the case, warned the 45th president that he could be arrested for missing court dates, although his attorney indicated he would participate in his defense.
Justice Merchan also said that the former president could not be granted permission to miss his court appearance next week to attend his Supreme Court hearing scheduled for April 25 in a different case.
The former president’s lawyers have also argued that Justice Merchan should step down from the case. They’ve accused him of bias and a conflict of interest, citing his daughter’s work as the head of a firm whose clients have included President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other Democrats.
On Monday, Justice Merchan refused to rescue himself and said he would not consider it again until an appeals court issued a ruling on the matter.
The New York case is the first of President Trump’s four criminal indictments slated to go to trial. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The former president’s lawyers said he faces “real potential prejudice” in heavily Democrat-leaning Manhattan. Election data has shown that only about 12 percent of Manhattan residents voted for the former president in 2020’s election.
The felony charge he faces could be punishable by up to four years in prison. However, there’s no guarantee that President Trump would serve time behind bars if he’s convicted, with the sentence ultimately up to the judge. Notably, it’s not clear how the U.S. Secret Service would handle a former president being incarcerated.
