Why Trump will face his first criminal trial in March

Donald Trump is set to go on trial in March against allegations of conducting a hush-money cover-up. He's being charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records after paying $130,000 to former porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to stay quiet about having sex with the then-presidential candidate.

The former president appeared in court in New York on Thursday, seeking to have the trial dismissed or delayed.

But Judge Juan Merchan was not swayed by arguments that the trial's timetable would hurt his presidential campaign.

The BBC's Nada Tawfik explains the importance of the case in an election year, where Trump continues to be the leading candidate to be the Republican nominee for president.