Former U.S. President Donald Trump is in a New York courtroom to face criminal charges for falsifying financial records of his companies to cover up hush payments made to alleged former lovers before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to be tried on criminal charges. The judge denied Trump’s request to dismiss the trial.
A jury of 12 New Yorkers and six alternates is set to be selected on Monday (15). Potential jurors will be evaluated through questions that may signal political opinions.
The case
The Manhattan district attorney charged Trump last year with 34 criminal counts for his alleged role in a scheme to pay off alleged mistresses before the 2016 election. He is accused of falsifying business records in New York to conceal damaging information and illegal activities before and after the 2016 election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied the charges.
What’s at stake?
This is just one of four criminal cases Trump faces while being the presumptive Republican candidate for 2024. It may be the only case that will face a jury before the election. If convicted, 77-year-old Trump could face a maximum of four years in prison, but he could also be punished with just a fine.
The trial
The trial, which will begin with jury selection this Monday (15), is expected to last six to eight weeks — and will revolve around the reimbursement Trump made to his then-attorney Michael Cohen for the alleged payment made to former porn star Stormy Daniels, one of the alleged lovers.
Cohen claims he was instructed to pay $130,000 to the former porn star in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair she had with Trump, something prosecutors described as an attempt to “illegally influence” the 2016 election.
Paying to buy someone’s silence is not illegal. But the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office alleges that Trump committed a crime by improperly recording the reimbursement made to Cohen as a legal expense.
Source: CNN and BBC