First Criminal Case Against Donald Trump Begins in New York – Historic Trial

• 

  Marieke de Vries

  A journalist from the United States

The case has not yet begun, but it can be said that it is already historic: today the first criminal case against Donald Trump begins in New York and thus also the first criminal case against a former president in American history.

Trump is on trial for paying hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels. According to the indictment, he tried to prevent a sex scandal before the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. District Attorney Alvin Braggs has brought 34 charges against Trump. If found guilty, Trump could receive up to 4 years in prison.

The trial begins with the selection of 12 jurors who will ultimately decide whether Trump actually paid Daniels $130,000. When Daniels wanted to reveal the details of the relationship before the elections, Trump would claim that Trump paid his money through his lawyer Michael Cohen.

The payments are said to have been recorded in the accounts as ‘legal costs’, implying fraud. There would also be a discussion on using campaign funds for the payments. If it is shown that the hush money was paid to avoid bad publicity and thus influence the outcome of the elections, this was a crime.

Cohen was previously sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the case. He was released in early 2021. He is, next to Stormy Daniels, one of the important witnesses in the trial.

The American media knows if Stephanie Clifford, as Stormy Daniels is really called, will reveal intimate details about her relationship with Trump. Her testimony and Cohen’s testimony could be damaging to Trump, who wants to run for president again in November. Trump is also involved in many more legal issues.

The former president, who has always denied knowing about the payments, says he wants to testify to clear his name. This carries risks, as the judge has already placed a gag order on him for threatening witnesses and family members of those involved in the case on his social media platform Truth Social.

He doesn’t seem to care much about that gag order, because on the same stage last night he ranted about the “confused judge” and the “corrupt public prosecutor ”, which would make a political lawsuit to get rid of him.

Both Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors will find it difficult to find impartial jurors in New York. So, jurors have to answer questions like “Have you ever been to a Donald Trump campaign rally?” and “Do you follow Donald Trump on social media?” or “Are you a ‘ follow anti-Trump groups on social media?’ and ‘Do you think he would be prosecuted in this case?’

The trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks. In an American criminal case, the suspect must appear in court every day, unless the judge makes an exception. So Trump will probably be in court four days a week for the next two months and he can’t campaign on those days.