Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s hush money trial is scheduled to begin on Monday. The prosecution is expected to call David Pecker, the former CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media, as their first witness.
Pecker was allegedly involved in efforts to suppress negative information about Trump before the 2016 presidential election. He is said to have warned Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, about Stormy Daniels’ claims that she had an affair with Trump while he was married. Cohen subsequently paid Daniels $130,000 less than two weeks before the election.
American Media also allegedly paid $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also claims to have had an affair with Trump.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal his reimbursement to Cohen for the Daniels payment. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleges that Trump did so to influence the 2016 election.
Trump is not expected to testify on Monday, but has indicated that he will do so later in the trial. If he does, prosecutors will be able to challenge his credibility by questioning him about other court decisions, including a ruling that he fraudulently inflated his asset values.
As the trial commenced, Trump appeared to be struggling to stay awake. He was reportedly slumping in his chair and closing his eyes periodically.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump defended the payments to Cohen, arguing that they should have been recorded as legal expenses. He also complained that he is unable to campaign for president this week due to the trial.
The trial is expected to last around six weeks and will be heard by a jury of 12 members and six alternates.
