In the first criminal trial of a former president, prosecutors laid out their case against Donald Trump in Manhattan on Monday, accusing him of orchestrating a conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election and then covering it up.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, led by prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, told the jury that Trump ‘orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 election, then covered it up.’ They will attempt to convince the jury that Trump criminally covered up a hush money deal to influence the election by paying off Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump just days before the 2016 election.
Trump’s attorneys, however, maintain his innocence and claim that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office should never have brought the case. Trump attorney Todd Blanche told the jury in his opening remarks that ‘President Trump is innocent’ and ‘did not commit any crimes.’
The opening statements previewed the testimony expected to unfold in the coming weeks in the dingy Manhattan courtroom. Prosecutors will tell jurors a story that ranges from sex to politics to accounting, while Trump’s attorneys will attempt to discredit the prosecution’s star witnesses, including Trump’s ex-fixer and personal lawyer Michael Cohen and porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Proceedings are set to resume Tuesday morning, when the judge will weigh prosecutors’ assertion that Trump has violated his gag order 10 times. They have asked the judge to hold the former president in contempt and fine him thousands of dollars.
