A prosecutor told jurors that Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election, while a defense lawyer countered by saying that Trump was innocent during opening statements at his hush money trial.
For the first time in history, prosecutors are presenting a criminal case against a former American president to a jury as they accuse Donald Trump of a hush money scheme aimed at preventing damaging stories about his personal life from being public.
Prosecutors say he met with Trump and Michael Cohen at Trump Tower in August 2015 and agreed to help the campaign identify negative stories about him. Pecker, 72, was the publisher of the National Enquirer but prosecutors said he was "acting as a co-conspirator" in helping buy and bury damaging stories about Trump, including a doorman's false claim that Trump had fathered a love child and a Playboy model's claim of a sexual relationship with Trump, who has denied both allegations.
On Sunday night, Cohen publicly posted online that he had a "mental excitement about this trial" and the testimony he would deliver, Blanche said. Judge Merchan had to interrupt Blanche's opening after multiple objections from prosecutors, then he met the parties at a sidebar conference, after which he struck a line from Blanche's opening.
Trump "had nothing to do" with the invoice, the check being generated or the entry on the ledger, Blanche said. Blanche took particular issue with the prosecution's insinuation that attempting to influence an election connotes illegality.After the 2016 election, Donald Trump invited David Pecker, then publisher of the National Enquirer, to Trump Tower to thank him for his contribution to the campaign, prosecutors said Monday. He also invited the publisher to the inauguration and later to the White House, where a dinner was held to honor Pecker and then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.
"This might be the only time it ever happened," Colangelo said. Trump's willingness to part with so much cash showed how important it was to him to keep the hush money scheme under wraps, the prosecutor posited.
The plan was hatched at Trump Tower shortly after the then-presidential candidate had announced his candidacy. During that meeting, prosecutors say that David Pecker, then-publisher of the National Enquirer, agreed to "help the defendant's campaign by working as the eyes and the ears of the campaign."
Colangelo, senior counsel to the district attorney, told jurors that though the payments to Michael Cohen were labeled as legal fees pursuant to a retainer agreement, there was no retainer and there were no legal services. "The defendant falsified those business records because he wanted to conceal his and others' criminal conduct," he said.
The ruling is a mixed bag for Trump, who had sought to entirely block questioning on these previous issues if he takes the stand.Trump arrived at the courthouse shortly before 9 a.m., minutes after castigating the case in capital letters on social media as "election interference" and a "witch hunt." After the election and while he was president, Trump authorized repaying Cohen through twelve $35,000 payments, which the Trump Organization characterized as payments for legal services pursuant to its retainer agreement with Cohen.
While Trump's lawyers recently claimed they do not intend to make an advice-of-counsel defense - arguing Trump was just acting at the direction of his lawyers - they plan to highlight the involvement of lawyers in the scheme to prove Trump lacked the intent to commit crimes.From the start of jury selection to a verdict, Trump's New York trial could run from six-to-eight weeks.
He said he gets his news from X, where he follows an account that reposts Trump's Truth Social posts, Michael Cohen, and an account devoted to Trump's legal and political woes. When asked about the case, he suggested that he could infer the former president's intent without "reading his mind"; however, he was embarrassed to admit he was not very familiar with all the allegations against the former president.
"President Trump speaks his mind," she said. "And I'd rather that than someone who's in office who you don't know what they're thinking." He has never served on a jury. He said he supported some of Trump's policies as president but disagreed with others.Juror 8 is a retired wealth manager who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon. His hobbies include fly fishing, skiing, meditation and yoga.
"I don't really follow the news," she wrote when asked where she got her information. She disclosed a close friend of hers was convicted of financial fraud. She enjoys running, playing tennis and paddle boarding with her husband and dog. She listens to podcasts that are faith-based or sports-related.Cohen, a Trump loyalist turned critic, is expected to be a key prosecution witness, as he was the one who orchestrated the payoffs.
Trump has a limited criminal history , and similar cases suggest Trump's sentence could range from no prison time to a few years.
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