New York: A New York prosecutor told jurors on Monday Donald TrumpThe first hush payments to porn stars to cheat voters broke the law just before the 2016 election. Criminal justice The story of the former president of the United States begins.
“This case involves a conspiracy to defraud,” said prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, “that defendant Donald Trump committed a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.”
He told jurors they would hear Trump detail the plan in his own voice during the recorded conversation.
Lawyers for the Republican presidential candidate will make opening statements on one of the four criminal charges ahead of his Nov. 5 rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.
Colangelo tells jurors Trump engaged in ‘catch and mail’ conspiracy with ex-lawyer Michael Cohen and tabloid publishers David Peck Covering up indecent information about Trump and helping him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
That includes payments to women who say they had sex with Trump, including a $130,000 payment to a porn star. Stormy DanielsDuring that time, he said, he faced revelations of other sexual misconduct.
As the trial began, Judge Juan Marchan ruled that if Trump testified, prosecutors would be able to question him about two other court cases: one in which he misrepresented the value of real estate assets, the other in which he was accused by author E. Jean found Carroll defamatory after accusing her of rape.
Merchant also said prosecutors will be able to show jurors a transcript of the “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump made lewd comments about grabbing women’s genitals, but jurors will not be allowed to see the tape.
Trump, dressed in a blue tie and dark blue suit, looked at the judge and occasionally spoke to his lawyers. A Secret Service agent wearing a headset sat directly behind him.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and denied having sex with Daniels.
Many legal experts consider the case to be the lowest of any Trump impeachment. A guilty verdict would not prevent him from taking office, but it could hurt his candidacy.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that half of independent voters and a quarter of Republicans said they would not vote for Trump if convicted.
“Catch and Kill”
Colangelo said Trump disguised his reimbursements to Cohen as legal expenses through 11 fake invoices, 12 fake ledger entries and 11 fake checks.
“These were lies. There was no retainer agreement and Cohen was not paid for legal services,” Colangelo said. “The defendant falsified these business records because he wanted to conceal his own and others’ criminal conduct.”
Peck is the first witness prosecutors plan to call after opening statements, The New York Times and CNN reported Sunday. According to prosecutors, Pekar agreed to serve as the campaign’s “eyes and ears” during an August 2015 meeting with Trump and Cohen, keeping an eye on negative reports about Trump.
“Peck was not acting as an informer, he was acting as a co-conspirator,” Colangelo said.
American Media, which publishes the National Enquirer, admitted in 2018 that it paid former Playboy model Karen McDougall $150,000 for her interviews with Trump in 2006 and 2007. Poo’s month-long romance report. American media said it was “up front” related to the Trump campaign, but never published any reports.
“The evidence will show that the defendant did not want the information about Karen McDougall released because he feared it would affect the election,” Colangelo said.
The tabloid made a similar deal to pay $30,000 to a gatekeeper who tried to sell a story about Trump’s alleged illegitimate birth that turned out to be false, according to prosecutors.
Trump said the payments did not violate personal and election laws. She also denied having an affair with McDougal.
During the trial in New York, Trump was accused of falsely recording a 2017 Daniels payment to Cohen as legal expenses on his real estate company’s books. Prosecutors said he did this to hide the fact that Cohen’s donation exceeded the $2,700 limit for individual campaign contributions at the time.
Testimony about these payments could help prosecutors establish that Cohen’s payments to Daniels were part of a wider pattern.
According to Trump’s defense team, prosecutors plan to call at least 20 witnesses. The trial may last six to eight weeks.
Before the trial began Monday, Trump called on supporters to peacefully protest in courthouses “across the country,” but when he arrived at the downtown courthouse, there were few to greet him. Trump said tight security contributed to the sparse turnout, but the streets around the courthouse remained open to the public.
“Lower Manhattan is now completely shut down around the courthouse I’m going to. So unfair!!!”
Trump faces three additional criminal charges related to his 2020 election loss and his efforts to handle classified documents after he leaves the White House in 2021.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to each of those charges, all of which he has described as a broad effort by Biden’s Democratic allies to undermine his campaign.
Silk, who oversaw the hush-money trial, imposed a limited gag order on Trump after criticizing witnesses, prosecutors, the judge and his daughter. Prosecutors are urging Marchin to punish Trump for violating the order.
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