Trump Faces 34 Charges, Tied to New York for 6 Weeks due to Trial Attendance
The trial over allegations of a hush money payment to a porn star by Donald Trump officially began on the 22nd (local time).
According to CNN, Judge Juan Merchan of the Manhattan Criminal Court opened the first trial and heard statements from the prosecution and defense, as prosecutors and former President Trump’s defense completed jury selection by last week.
The selected jury consists of 12 members, including an investment banker living in the heart of Manhattan with a master’s degree in business administration, an asset management company representative from Lebanon, and an English teacher.
Last year, Trump was criminally charged with a total of 34 charges, including allegations of paying hush money to former adult film star Stormy Daniels through his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to hide his affair with Daniels just before the 2016 U.S. presidential election and recording this as legal fees in business records.
Trump is the first in U.S. history to stand in court as a defendant among former and current presidents. He arrived at the court with his defense team and told reporters, “This is a very, very sad day for America. Instead of campaigning in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and many other places, I am here. This is very unfair.”
In its opening statement, the prosecution claimed, “While Trump’s lawyers claim that the payments were legitimate legal fees, our investigation shows that this was election fraud, pure and simple, based on a bribery negotiation.”
On the other hand, Trump’s defense team directly refuted the prosecution’s claim, stating, “Trump is not related to any charges and is innocent.”
The trial saw the questioning of witnesses for the first time. The prosecution brought David Pecker, the former publisher of the American tabloid National Enquirer, as a witness, who said, “There was absolutely nothing illegal about what happened between Trump and him.”
Pecker allegedly paid actress Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, $150,000 and bought exclusive reporting rights to keep it concealed from influencing the election when she threatened to expose her past affair with Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The questioning of Pecker as a witness is expected to continue on the 23rd.
Meanwhile, with the trial officially underway, Trump must attend the trial held four days a week. That means he’ll be in New York City for the next six weeks or so. Not only is his campaigning activity restricted ahead of the presidential election in November, but the hefty legal fees are also expected to burden Trump’s presidential election campaign.
Most Commented