Hush money trial: All the wild defences Trump has given so far

Former president Donald Trump’s legal team has used various defences for — and attempts to delay — the hush money case in which he is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

None of them so far have worked.

The first-ever criminal case against a sitting or former president hinges on his efforts to conceal so-called hush money payments — one of which totalled $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen gave the money to Ms Daniels to prevent her from discussing her alleged 2006 affair with Mr Trump — which is said to have occurred one year after Mr Trump married Melania.

Mr Trump’s reaction to the hush money payment has gone through a rollercoaster of an evolution, landing him now in criminal court.

Here is a list of all of Mr Trump’s defences ahead of his hush money trial:

Mr Trump at first repeatedly denied that the payment existed — as well as the affair.

The Wall Street Journal first reported in January 2018 that Michael Cohen had given $130,000 in October 2016 to Ms Daniels in exchange for her silence about the Trump affair.

“These are old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election,” a White House official told the outlet dismissively.

Cohen also told the publication: “President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms. Daniels.”

In February, however, Cohen sang to a different tune, claiming that he personally had paid Ms Daniels ahead of the election. He added that he paid the adult film star with his own money and hadn’t been ordered to pay her by Mr Trump or his campaign, further claiming that Mr Trump hadn’t reimbursed him for the payment.

By March, Ms Daniels