Trump’s day in the dock is here
Donald Trump on Tuesday (Australian time) becomes the first US president in history to face a criminal trial.
The charges against him in New York represent one of four criminal cases Mr Trump is embroiled in, amid his campaign to return to power in November’s election rematch against President Joe Biden.
What is the trial that starts this week?
Mr Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records over a $US130,000 ($196,000) hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election, which was designed to silence her from talking about their sexual affair. The potential sentence for each count stretches from probation to a four-year prison term.
How will the trial affect his presidential campaign?
Mr Trump is the presumptive Republican candidate for November’s election. But for at least the next six weeks, he will have to spend Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in Manhattan’s criminal courthouse.
What are the other criminal cases involving Mr Trump?
Two of them relate to his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat. The third centres on his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Will those trials happen before the election?
Due to delaying tactics by Mr Trump’s legal team, it is looking increasingly unlikely that any of those three trials will take place before the election in early November.
Could Mr Trump go to jail?
It is possible. But if he is reelected, he could dismiss the federal cases against him, or pardon himself if he had already been found guilty and sentenced.