Sophie Thomas has been covering culture and style for many years. She lives in Southern California.
April 25 , 2024
New York - In a surprising move days before his criminal trial, former President Donald Trump has fired his legal team and hired Arthur Aidala, the lawyer who recently secured a major appellate victory for Harvey Weinstein.
Trump announced the shakeup on his Truth Social platform Thursday evening, thanking his previous attorneys and stating he had hired Aidala to "lead the way" in his hush money case in Manhattan. The switch comes just three days before jury selection is set to begin in the high-stakes trial, where Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to an alleged $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Aidala, a former prosecutor in Brooklyn, successfully argued for Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction in New York to be overturned by the state's highest court on Wednesday. The appeals court ruled 4-3 that the trial judge unfairly prejudiced the jury by allowing testimony about allegations not part of the criminal charges.
At a press conference, Aidala declared it "a great day for America" when Weinstein's conviction was tossed, saying it showed the justice system works even for an "unpopular" defendant.
Now Aidala will take over Trump's defense against charges the former president falsified records at the Trump Organization to conceal reimbursements for the hush money paid to Daniels to cover up an alleged affair.
Trump, who has denied the affair, pleaded not guilty last month and has decried the case as a partisan "witch hunt" by the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
It remains to be seen if Aidala will seek to delay the trial's start on Monday to get up to speed on the complex case. Trump had previously said he would likely testify in his own defense.
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