Hush money to Stormy Daniels: Trump’s criminal trial commences

DONALD TRUMP arrived at a Manhattan court for a historic criminal trial stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star that could keep him in court for weeks and complicate his bid to win back the White House.

Trump, 77, is the first former US president to face a criminal trial. He is required to attend the trial in Manhattan, which could last through May. Jury selection is expected to take about a week, followed by witness testimony.

A handful of protesters, gathered in the plaza across the street, carried hand-painted signs reading “LOSER” and “convict Trump already.” Though the case is regarded by some legal experts as the least consequential of the four criminal prosecutions he faces, it is the only one to surely go to trial before the November 5 polls.

Trump has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could still hold office but Reuters/ipsos polling shows a guilty verdict could hobble his prospects.

New York state prosecutors accuse him of falsifying records to cover up a $1,30,000 payment in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels about a 2006 sexual encounter she has said they had.

Trump has denied any such relationship. He pleaded not guilty last year to 34 counts of falsification of business records in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, in New York state court.

In his three other criminal cases, he stands accused of mishandling classified information and trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

AP File Stormy Daniels in in West Hollywood in 2018.