On the first day of Trump’s hush-money trial, prosecutors say he corrupted the 2016 election, World News reports

NEW YORK – New York prosecutors said on the first day of Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial that the former president broke the law and corrupted the 2016 election by trying to cover up sexual encounters with a porn star and a Playboy model , while his lawyer said he had committed no crime.

Jurors in the landmark trial also briefly heard from the prosecution’s first witness: former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who prosecutors say participated in a “catch and kill” scheme to suppress unflattering stories about Trump and target him to help get elected.

In the first-ever trial of a former US president, Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 ($177,008) payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter they say had for ten years. earlier. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies the meeting took place.

Prosecutors have portrayed the payment as a criminal attempt to deceive voters at a time when Trump is facing other allegations of abusive sexual behavior.

“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,” he said. prosecutor Matthew Colangelo. “It was election fraud, pure and simple.”

Colangelo told the jury they would hear Trump elaborate on the details of the plan in recorded conversations and see an extensive paper trail supporting witnesses’ testimony.

Trump’s attorney told the jury that the former president committed no crimes and said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg should not have brought the case.

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“There is nothing wrong with trying to influence elections. It’s called democracy. They have given something sinister to this idea, as if it were a crime,” said Trump attorney Todd Blanche.

Dressed in a blue tie and a dark blue suit, the Republican presidential candidate watched the trials and occasionally spoke to his lawyer. Directly behind him sat a Secret Service agent wearing an earpiece.

The lawyers made their opening statements in what may be the only of Trump’s four criminal charges to go to trial before his Nov. 5 election rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.

The case is seen by many legal experts as the least consequential of the Trump prosecutions, based on facts that have been public since 2018. A guilty verdict would not prevent him from taking office, but it could damage his candidacy.

Reuters/Ipsos polls show half of independent voters and one in four Republicans say they would not vote for Trump if he were convicted of a crime.

Before the proceedings got underway, Trump called on his supporters to peacefully protest nationwide, but few greeted him as he arrived at the courthouse in downtown Manhattan. Trump blamed security restrictions for the poor turnout, even though surrounding streets were open to the public.

Trump faces three other criminal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in those cases, and he portrays them all as a broad effort by Biden’s Democratic allies to undermine his campaign. With the 2024 election in full swing, Trump must now juggle court appearances and campaign rallies.

34 criminal cases

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying company records. Prosecutors say he forged checks and invoices to disguise $420,000 in payments to his personal attorney Michael Cohen as legal services, when in fact they were intended to reimburse him for paying Daniels.

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Colangelo said these payments were part of a broader pattern by Trump, Cohen and Pecker to suppress other unflattering stories and help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

According to prosecutors, during a meeting with Trump and Cohen in August 2015, Pecker agreed to act as the campaign’s “eyes and ears” by watching for negative stories about Trump.

“Pecker acted not as a publisher, but as a co-conspirator,” Colangelo said. Pecker has not been charged with a crime.

American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, admitted in 2018 that it paid $150,000 to former Playboy magazine model Karen McDougal for the rights to her story about a months-long affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007. American Media said it ” worked in collaboration. ” with Trump’s campaign, and no story was ever published from it.

The tabloid reached a similar deal to pay $30,000 to a doorman who wanted to sell a story about Trump allegedly fathering a child out of wedlock, which prosecutors say turned out to be false.

Trump has said the payments were personal and did not violate election law. He has also denied the affair with McDougal.

Cohen’s credibility as a witness will likely be a crucial aspect of the trial, which could last six to eight weeks. He has pleaded guilty and served prison time on federal campaign finance charges related to his role in the scheme.

“He has a goal — an obsession — to get Trump,” Blanche said, adding that Cohen had lied under oath in other cases. “I’m telling you he can’t be trusted.”

Trump has criticized Cohen and others involved in the case, including prosecutors, Judge Juan Merchan and his daughter.

Merchan has imposed a limited silence order and will consider on Tuesday whether Trump should be punished for violating that order.

The 72-year-old Pecker is also expected to regain the lead on Tuesday.

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