For the first time in US history, a criminal trial has started against an ex-president. Donald Trump faces prison if convicted in the hush money trial. At the beginning he had to accept a setback.
Six and a half months before the presidential election in the USA, a historic trial against Donald Trump began in New York. For the first time in the history of the United States, a former US president is in the dock during a criminal trial. Prosecutors accuse Trump of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump, who is expected to enter the Republican presidential race again, rejects the allegations and considers the proceedings to be politically motivated. First, jury selection began today, which could take several days.
Trump lawyers’ requests rejected
At the start of the trial, Trump suffered a setback: within minutes, Judge Juan Merchan rejected a second request from the Republican to withdraw from the proceedings due to bias. Last week, Trump’s lawyers filed three motions that would have delayed the trial. They were all rejected.
According to the court, the process could take up to eight weeks. If convicted, the 77-year-old could face a prison sentence of several years, which could also be suspended. The lawyers of the Republican, who wants to be re-elected US President in November, had until recently tried to avert, postpone or delay the proceedings.
Trump sees “attack on America”
Trump spoke out shortly before the trial opened and said: “This is an attack on America, nothing like it has ever happened before.” The background to the case is that Trump had $130,000 in hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, shortly before his election as president. She had claimed that she had had sex with him. Trump denies an affair, but does not deny that money was flowed.
Non-disclosure agreements between two parties are not inherently illegal. However, Trump is accused of illegally recording the payments, trying to conceal them illegally and thereby trying to cover up other violations of the law. The hush money to Stormy Daniels was paid by Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen. Trump later reimbursed Cohen for the hush money with 11 checks that were misdeclared as compensation for legal services from 2017.
Conviction would not be an end to Trump’s candidacy
The trial involves a total of 34 charges. Each individual can be punished with up to four years in prison – that would add up to 136 years. According to experts, it is unlikely that the ex-president would actually have to serve a prison sentence since it would be his first criminal conviction. A possible prison sentence could be suspended.
If Trump is convicted, it would not prevent him from running for president or from returning to the White House if he wins the election. The U.S. Constitution generally does not prohibit convicted felons from running for the highest office in the state. It is also expected that Trump will appeal if he is convicted.
More trials against Trump in preparation
The Republican is facing criminal charges in three other cases. Two of them are about his attempts to retroactively overturn his 2020 election defeat against current President Joe Biden, and the third case is about taking and storing secret government documents in his private estate in the state of Florida. However, it is uncertain when the trials for these three cases will begin.
There are also numerous civil lawsuits. The ex-president and his legal team are trying to block the proceedings by all means and have already been partially successful. The hush money trial involves less serious allegations than the other cases, but experts say it is the trial that could possibly be completed first.