On Monday, Donald Trump will enter a New York courtroom and make history as the first former US president to go on trial for a criminal offense.
He is charged with fabricating his company documents in order to hide the fact that, just before the 2016 election, he paid hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
If found guilty, Mr. Trump, 77, could spend a maximum of four years in prison; otherwise, he might only receive a fine.
He entered a not guilty plea.
The backdrop of Mr. Trump’s historic trial is his presidential campaign, and it may result in the presumptive Republican nominee being found guilty of a felony months before November elections.
According to Alex Keyssar, a history and public policy professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, “it’s unparalleled.” “It’s not even close to being comparable.”
The trial, which will start on Monday with jury selection, is anticipated to go for six to eight weeks, with the main focus being on the payment that Mr. Trump made to his longtime fixer, Michael Cohen.
In order to keep quiet about an alleged encounter with Mr. Trump, Cohen,57, says he was ordered to pay Ms. Daniels $130,000 (£104,000). Prosecutors have termed this as an attempt to “unlawfully influence” the 2016 election.
Payments of hush money are not prohibited. But, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office claims that by falsely classifying the payment to Cohen as legal fees, Mr. Trump broke the law.
Donald Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The trial in Manhattan is expected to feature testimony from various characters, including Cohen, Daniels, and Trump’s personal lawyer who went to prison in part over the scandal. Experts are divided over the prosecution’s case, which involves a more novel legal approach to bringing felony charges over the falsification of business records. Trump has made several unsuccessful attempts to delay the jury trial and move it from Manhattan, which is predominantly Democratic. His fiery remarks about the case led to a gag order, which the Trump campaign claimed was unconstitutional and violated his free speech rights. This criminal case is just one of four facing Trump this year, but it could be the only trial to take place before his 2024 election rematch with President Joe Biden. Experts say he is unlikely to go to prison, but his conviction would mark the first time a felon has run for president as a major-party nominee.
(BBC)
