Prosecutors in the trial of former President Donald Trump have accused him of orchestrating “a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election” through hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
During opening statements on Monday, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors that Trump “lied over and over and over again” to conceal the payments, which were intended to prevent Daniels from speaking publicly about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Colangelo described the case as “election fraud, pure and simple.”
Trump’s defense lawyers countered by saying the former president is “innocent” and that the case should never have been brought. The trial is the first criminal trial of a former US president and is taking place against the backdrop of a closely contested White House race in which Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee.
The 12-person jury will hear evidence and determine whether Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. A conviction would not preclude Trump from becoming president again, but he would not be able to pardon himself because it is a state case.
The case stems from payments made by Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to Daniels in the months leading up to the 2016 election. Cohen has already pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations related to the payments.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, calling the case a “witch hunt.”
