Justice
Fraud or innocence? Hush money trial against Trump is ongoing
Donald Trump is on trial: The public prosecutor’s office is accusing the ex-president of falsifying business documents. photo
© Jabin Botsford/Pool The Washington Post/AP/dpa
Would Americans elect a convicted felon as president? There is a lot at stake for Donald Trump at the start of the trial over hush money payments to cover up a sex scandal.
The globally acclaimed trial of the former US president Donald Trump over hush money payments to a porn actress has begun the content of the prosecution and defense’s opening statements. At the first criminal trial against an ex-president in US history, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo accused the 77-year-old in New York of wanting to influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election by paying $130,000 to sex actress Stormy Daniels : “It was election fraud – plain and simple.”
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche, however, portrayed his client as righteous: “President Trump is innocent. President Trump has committed no crimes.” It is completely legal to enter into confidentiality agreements. Trump – dressed in a dark blue suit and blue tie – was also present in the courtroom on Monday. While outwardly he attended the public prosecutor’s statements mostly unmoved, stoic and with a serious expression, he turned to his defense attorney during Blanche’s opening statement and obviously listened attentively.
If the prosecution convinces the twelve jurors of the allegations, Trump could face several years in prison, which could also be suspended. The case is said to have an influence on the progress of the current US election campaign. Trump wants to be re-elected President of the United States in November for the Republicans and replace incumbent Joe Biden. A verdict could be made in June. Trump had pleaded not guilty and recently expressed his desire to testify at the trial.
“He’s human too”
Blanche vigorously opposed allegations by prosecutors that Trump wanted to suppress reports of sex scandals and thereby influence the 2016 US presidential election. “There’s nothing wrong with influencing elections, that’s called democracy,” the lawyer said. The money paid was received legally. At the same time, he also highlighted a human side of Trump. This may sometimes seem larger than life itself, but that is not everything: “He is also a man, he is a husband, he is a father and he is a human being, just like you and like me.”
The indictment, led by Democratic New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, specifically accuses Trump of falsifying business documents because the $130,000 for Daniels was declared internally as fees for Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen – and not as reimbursement for what he had already paid paid hush money. From a legal perspective, this offense becomes a crime if the falsification of documents is intended to cover up a criminal act.
The prosecution therefore argues that the payment constituted an illegal campaign donation with which Trump wanted to cover up a sex scandal and adultery shortly before the vote for the new US president in 2016 in order to preserve his chance for the highest office of the state. The defense, on the other hand, could present the facts in such a way that Trump’s sole purpose in making the payment was to prevent damage to his family, i.e. it was simply a private payment with no connection to the US election. It is undisputed that the $130,000 was paid.
A convicted liar as a key witness
At the center of the proceedings is key witness and lawyer Cohen, who was once known as Trump’s legal cleanup and has turned against him in recent years. Cohen claims that Trump directly instructed him to pay the hush money. Trump’s defense portrayed him on Monday as driven by a desire for revenge.
Attorney Blanche attacked Cohen as an untrustworthy criminal who had already lied under oath. The now 57-year-old had already pleaded guilty in 2018, among other things, for his role in the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels – and served a prison sentence for, among other things, making false statements. In 2018, Trump was still US President and was not prosecuted by prosecutors.
In the trial, prosecutors will also try to substantiate their allegations with other cases of payments made by Trump in connection with sex allegations. In this context, the first witness, the former editor of the Trump-affiliated smear paper “National Enquirer,” David Pecker, was called on Monday. The background is money that the “National Enquirer” allegedly paid on behalf of the then presidential candidate shortly before the 2016 election for the rights to two stories. However, the paper never published this afterwards – so it suppressed it.
“Checkbook journalism” on behalf of Trump?
One of the cases involved an employee at Trump Tower in New York who was paid $30,000 by the National Enquirer. The man had claimed that he knew about Trump’s paternity of a child out of wedlock. Former Playmate Karen McDougal also received $150,000. She claimed to have had an affair with Trump and wanted to sell this story for a large sum during the election campaign. Pecker confirmed in his statement that the tabloid practiced “checkbook journalism,” meaning it paid for stories. His questioning is scheduled to continue on Tuesday. The trial against Trump began last week with the complicated selection of the jury. The polarizing figure of Trump is seen as a problem in finding sufficiently unbiased people who can judge Trump in the case beyond their personal opinions. The US east coast metropolis of New York is also considered a liberal stronghold in the USA. Only a good 12 percent voted for Trump in the Manhattan district in the election four years ago. Even if he is convicted and sentenced to prison, Trump could still run in the next presidential election. In addition, he has the right to appeal against a possible verdict. It is unclear when further trials will begin against him for his role in the storming of the US Capitol in January 2021, attempted election fraud and taking secret government documents. Trump has so far been successful there with delaying strategies.
Trump is known for aggressive behavior, including in court proceedings. In the run-up to the trial, he repeatedly attacked Judge Juan Merchan and District Attorney Alvin Bragg, among others, portraying them as corrupt and biased. Judge Merchan, who is considered strict, has therefore banned comments about prosecutors, witnesses and his own family.