In the opening statements of Donald Trump’s hush money trial, prosecutors outlined a plan to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about Trump’s personal life from becoming public.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo alleged that Trump orchestrated a “criminal scheme” to corrupt the election and covered it up by falsifying business records. The defense, led by Todd Blanche, countered by attacking the credibility of former Trump confidant Michael Cohen, now the government’s star witness.
The trial is significant for being the first criminal trial of a former American president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury. It will examine whether Trump’s hush money payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels violate election laws and whether he lied in business records to conceal the payments.
Prosecutors emphasized the seriousness of the case, arguing that Trump’s actions constituted election fraud. The defense maintained that Trump did not commit any crimes and that the payment to Daniels was not illegal.
The trial is expected to last up to two months and will require Trump to spend significant time in court rather than on the campaign trail. It will test the jury’s ability to judge Trump impartially and Trump’s ability to comply with courtroom protocol.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, which could result in up to four years in prison. However, a conviction would not prevent him from running for president again.
The opening statements introduced key figures in the case, including Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, and David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer who met with Trump and Cohen to help identify and suppress negative stories.
Prosecutors highlighted the use of “catch-and-kill” tactics by the tabloid industry to prevent damaging stories from being published. Besides the payment to Daniels, prosecutors described arrangements to pay a former Playboy model $150,000 to suppress her claims of an affair with Trump.
The first witness called by the prosecution was Pecker, who detailed the use of “checkbook journalism” by the National Enquirer.
The New York case has taken on added importance as it may be the only one of the four against Trump to reach trial before the November election.
