NEW YORK (AP) – Opening statements in donald trump historic secret money trial are scheduled to begin Monday morning setting the stage for weeks of nasty and salacious testimony about the former president’s personal life and putting his legal troubles at the center of his hotly contested campaign against President Joe Biden.
A panel of New Yorkers – 12 jurors and six alternates – was sworn in last Friday after four days of jury selection and will hear what will be the first criminal trial against a former US commander in chief.
Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories which he thought could harm his 2016 presidential campaign.
At the center of the accusations is a payment of US$130,000 made to the porn actor Stormy Daniels per michael cohenformer lawyer and personal advisor to Trump, to prevent her allegations of a sexual encounter with Trump from surfacing in the final days of the race.
Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of such payments in internal business documents. Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses. He has declared himself innocent for 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records.
The silence case is the first of Trump’s four charges to come to trial.
At the moment:
– Main actors: who’s who in Donald Trump’s house silence criminal trial money
— The case of silence is just one of Trump’s legal cases. To see the others here
— Trump cancels rally because of the weather, proving the difficulty of balancing a test and a campaign
– Trump was forced to listen in silence as potential jurors offered their nude reviews of him
— Live video of man who set himself on fire outside court proves to be a challenge for news organizations
Here are the latest:
HERE’S WHO COULD BE CALLED TO TESTIFY
MICHAEL COHEN – Former lawyer and negotiator for Donald Trump. He was once a fierce ally of Trump, but is now a key witness in the prosecution against his former boss. Cohen worked for the Trump Organization from 2006 to 2017. He later went to federal prison after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations related to the silent agreements and other unrelated crimes.
STORMY DANIELS – The porn star who received a $130,000 payment from Cohen as part of his efforts to hide the money. Cohen paid Daniels to keep quiet about what she says was a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump denies having sex with Daniels.
KAREN MCDOUGAL – A former Playboy model who said she had a 10-month affair with Trump in the mid-2000s. She was paid $150,000 in 2016 by the National Enquirer’s parent company for the rights to her story about the alleged relationship. Trump denies having sex with McDougal.
DAVID PECKER – The Former editor of the National Enquirer and a longtime friend of Trump. Prosecutors say he met with Trump and Cohen at Trump Tower in August 2015 and agreed to help Trump’s campaign identify negative stories about him.
HOPE HICKS – Former Trump White House communications director. Prosecutors say she spoke to Trump by phone during a frantic effort to keep allegations of his marital infidelity out of the press after the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape leaked weeks before the 2016 election. In the 2005 tape, Trump bragged about grabbing women without permission.
PRISON TIME IS JUST ONE OF THE STAKES TRUMP FACES
Donald Trump is accused of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records and could face four years in prison if convicted, although it is unclear whether the judge will seek to put him behind bars. A conviction would not prevent Trump from becoming president again, but because this is a state case, he could not seek to pardon himself if he were found guilty. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Unfolding as Trump tries to reclaim the White House, the trial will require him to spend his days in a courtroom rather than on the campaign trail. He will have to listen to witnesses tell salacious and potentially unflattering details about his private life.
Even so, Trump sought to turn his status as a criminal defendant into an asset for his campaign, raising funds to avoid his legal and repeatedly protesting a justice system which he has claimed for years is a weapon against him.
PROMOTERS MAKE HISTORY WITH OPENING STATEMENTS
For the first time, prosecutors will present a criminal case against a former American president to a jury on Monday, as they charge donald trump on one silent money scheme with the aim of preventing harmful stories about his personal life from becoming public.
The statements are expected to give jurors and the voting public the clearest view yet of the allegations at the heart of the case, as well as insight into Trump’s expected defense.
To hear the case, there is a jury that includes, among others, several lawyers, a sales professional, an investment banker and an English teacher.
The case will test jurors’ ability to set aside any bias, but also Trump’s ability to respect the court’s restrictions, such as a gag order which prevents him from attacking witnesses. Prosecutors are seeking fines against him for alleged violations of that order.
