Prosecutors say Trump is guilty of a criminal conspiracy and cover-up. Defense lawyers call it ‘democracy’

This is Yahoo News’ brief update on the criminal and civil cases against former President Donald Trump. Here are the latest developments:

🚨 What happened today

Trump’s historic trial on 34 counts of falsifying corporate records began Monday in Manhattan. During opening arguments in the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president, prosecutors told jurors that Trump was involved in a “criminal conspiracy and cover-up” when he tried to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 trial. presidential elections. campaign.

Trump’s lawyers countered that the payment and the way it was reported did not break any law. “There is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election; it’s called democracy,” said attorney Todd Blanche. “They have given something sinister to this idea, as if it were a crime. You will learn that this is not so.”

📌Tell me more

Key statements from prosecutors during opening arguments: Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors that Trump’s hush money payments violated campaign finance laws. “This was a planned, coordinated, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal spending, to silence people who had anything bad to say about his behavior, with using falsified company information. It was election fraud, pure and simple.” Colangelo said he would play the jury recordings of Trump ordering his then-attorney Michael Cohen to pay Daniels, including a comment from Trump: “So what do we have to pay for this, 150?” The payment to Daniels was part of a larger conspiracy between Trump, Cohen and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, Colangelo said. “Those three men… made a deal at that meeting, they conspired to influence the 2016 presidential election.”

Key statements from lawyers during opening arguments: Blanche began his presentation with a statement that he hopes will stick in the minds of the judges. “President Trump is innocent,” he said, repeatedly referring to his client as if he were still president. “President Trump committed no crime. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office should never have brought this case.” Blanche also targeted one of the prosecution’s star witnesses, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who arranged and executed the payment to Daniels. “Unbeknownst to President Trump, Mr. Cohen was also a criminal for all the years that Mr. Cohen worked for him,” Blanche said. “He cheated on his taxes, he lied to the banks, he lied about side activities.” In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight crimes, including tax evasion and campaign finance violations, committed while working for Trump and was sentenced to three years in prison.

David Pecker was the first witness to call out: Prosecutors called Pecker to testify about his efforts to help Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election by buying up potentially damaging stories about him and then burying them. The practice, known as “catch and kill,” violated campaign finance laws, prosecutors alleged. “We used checkbook journalism and paid for stories,” Pecker testified.

📖 The background

⚖️Trump’s trials and lawsuits