WASHINGTON: For­mer US President Donald Trump said it would be a great honour to go to jail for violating a gag order imposed by the judge who will hear his upcoming trial on charges stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star.

“If this Partisan Hack wants to put me in the ‘clink’ for speaking the open and obvious TRUTH, I will gladly become a Modern Day Nelson Mandela — It will be my GREAT HONOR,” Trump posted on Saturday on his Truth Social platform.

Trump was referring to Justice Juan Merchan, who will preside over his trial in New York state court in Manhattan on criminal charges of covering up a $130,000 payment before the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter.

The trial begins on April 15.

The Republican, who is challenging Democratic President Biden in the presidential race, has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and denies an encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Step­hanie Clifford.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Burdening the people
Updated 30 Jun, 2024

Burdening the people

The tax-heavy budget will make lives of avg Pakistanis even harder and falls far short of inspiring confidence in govt's ability to execute structural changes.
WikiLeaks’ legacy
30 Jun, 2024

WikiLeaks’ legacy

THE recent release from captivity of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange has presented an opportunity to revisit the...
Iranian run-off
30 Jun, 2024

Iranian run-off

FRIDAY’S snap presidential election in Iran, called after the shock deaths of Ebrahim Raisi and members of his...
Pension burden
Updated 29 Jun, 2024

Pension burden

The cost of inaction has been enormous; the national pension bill has risen 50 times during the last 20 years.
‘Hot pursuit’
29 Jun, 2024

‘Hot pursuit’

WHILE Pakistan faces a major problem in the form of terrorists from Afghanistan infiltrating the country,...
Of fatal flaws
29 Jun, 2024

Of fatal flaws

IT is remarkable how chaos seems to be the only constant with the PTI. Late on Thursday, it emerged that the...