Donald Trump described the hush money case against him as an “assault on America” as he arrived at court in New York ahead of his historic trial.

The former US president is accused of criminally altering business records to cover up a $130,000 (£104,200) payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, during his 2016 election campaign.

Ms Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who was paid $150,000 (£120,000), both claim to have had affairs with Trump.

His lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to help him win the election.

Speaking as he arrived at the Manhattan court, Trump said: “Nothing like this has ever happened before. It should never been brought.

“It’s an assault on America. An assault on our country. A country that’s failing.

“It’s an attack on a political opponent, that’s all it is. So I’m very proud to be here.”

Read more:
All the terms you might hear in Donald Trump’s court cases
The key figures in the Donald Trump hush money case

Trump then continued to attack US president Joe Biden and repeated claims that the trial is political persecution, saying: “It’s a country that’s run by an incompetent man who is very much involved in this case.”

It marks the first of four indictments against the former president to go to trial, and is the first to be held ahead of this year’s presidential election.

Trump faces two other criminal trials accusing him of trying to subvert his 2020 election loss to Mr Biden, and another that accuses him of mishandling classified information after he left the White House in 2021.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. No other former US president has ever faced criminal charges.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, said he co-ordinated with Trump on payments to Ms Daniels and to Ms McDougal.

Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in 2018 in relation to the payments and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released into house arrest after one year.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Related posts:

With no good options, Biden had little choice but to leave Afghanistan Guest jumps in to save handler from ‘extra spunky’ alligator at reptile centre Man shot after gunman ‘targets diners’ outside restaurant in New York US to reopen borders to vaccinated passengers from UK and EU on 8 November Amazon workers were left ‘terrified and powerless’ after it concealed COVID cases, California says One-year-old dies in Georgia after being left in car for hours with temperatures topping 40C Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones owes Sandy Hook parents $4.1m, jury determines North Korea fires intercontinental ballistic missile which ‘could hit entire US mainland’ ‘He’s not done’: US first lady gives strongest hint yet of Biden’s second term ‘I’m not supposed to be here’: The most unlikely tales of survival from town pulverised by tornado Lucky Powerball player scoops $1bn jackpot Donald Trump’s eldest sister dies