Donald Trump Pleaded Not Guilty to 34 Felony Criminal Charges.

BY BBC,

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges during a court hearing in New York

The ex-US president returned to Florida immediately after, where he told supporters the case was "an insult to our country"

He also criticised the judge and prosecutors and claimed - without evidence - the case against him was politically-motivated

The 2024 White House contender is accused of falsifying business records to protect his 2016 election run

The charges focus on an alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump

New York prosecutors also detailed other alleged pay-offs to suppress potentially damaging stories, including to a doorman and another to a former Playboy model

Judge Juan Merchan did not issue a gag order on Trump, but asked both sides to be mindful of their language and rhetoric

Trump's team will have until August to file any motions against the case. The next court hearing is set for December

Trump's Mar-a-Lago appearance;

Here's a flavour of what Donald Trump said in his speech at his Mar-a-Lago residence last night (around 20:30 local time, 01:30 BST).

During his 25-minute speech, the 2024 White House contender repeated many of his campaign points, arguing that he has been the victim of a Democratic conspiracy to jeopardise his re-election bid

Trump began by denying his guilt and saying that his opponents "seek to destroy" the US

He then falsely claimed that every single pundit and legal analyst said there is no case against him

Trump reiterated personal attacks on Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg - whose office is prosecuting the case - and the family of the judge overseeing Trump's case

"I have a Trump-hating judge from a Trump-hating family," he said, calling the court biased against him. "Our country is going to hell," he said, listing all the ways that he claims he has been persecuted since launching his 2016 presidential campaign

The case against Trump;

Here are some of the key allegations from New York prosecutors. The ex-president has denied all of them.

The main accusation against Trump is that he "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election"

By identifying and suppressing harmful stories about him from going public before the election, Trump and others involved in the scheme "violated election laws and made and caused false entries in the business records of various entities in New York"

The document adds that Trump and his allies "also took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments"