The National - News

JURY SELECTION BEGINS AS TRUMP IS TRIED ON HUSH MONEY CHARGES

▶ Prosecutor­s say former US president falsified business records to cover up threat of scandal

- PATRICK deHAHN and ADLA MASSOUD

The trial of former US president Donald Trump, who faces criminal charges alleging that he made a hush money payment to an adult film star during his 2016 presidenti­al campaign, began in New York yesterday.

Mr Trump is the first former or sitting president of the US to be charged in a criminal case, and the case is the first time a president has appeared in court as part of a trial.

State prosecutor­s said that Mr Trump falsified business records to cover up a hush-money scheme aimed at shutting down the possibilit­y of scandals on his way to the White House in 2016.

If the trial ends with a conviction, he could face a fine or up to four years in state prison.

He has pleaded not guilty to the 34 felony charges.

“This is a kind of crime that New York does incarcerat­e people for when they are convicted for it,” David Super, professor of law at Georgetown University, told The National.

“New York is the financial capital of the US and is very concerned that if it gets a reputation as a place where people can submit fraudulent paperwork and fraudulent reports, that people will not want to do business in New York and that will be very bad for the city and the state.”

Jury selection began yesterday, when a panel of Manhattan residents was questioned on their personal lives, news consumptio­n and bias when it comes to Mr Trump. The case comes at a challengin­g time for Mr Trump, who is in the middle of campaignin­g for re-election.

Once a 12-member jury is selected, arguments can formally begin, with witnesses who may include Michael Cohen, former adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, Karen McDougal, David Pecker and Mr Trump’s former personal counsellor Hope Hicks.

Clifford, known by her screen name Stormy Daniels, was allegedly paid $130,000 by Cohen, Mr Trump’s lawyer at the time, for her silence after claims arose that she had an affair with the former president in 2006.

Mr Trump has denied there was an affair.

Cohen served a three-year federal prison sentence beginning in 2019 for the hush-money payments he made.

Prosecutor­s also said that tabloid publisher the National Enquirer paid Ms McDougal $150,000 on behalf of Mr Trump in connection with claims that she had an affair with him.

Mr Pecker, a former executive at the tabloid, allegedly worked with Mr Trump’s team to block negative stories about him in the press.

In another “catch and kill” strategy by the Enquirer to squash a story, the publisher also allegedly paid off a doorman at Trump Tower so he would not share claims that Mr Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock.

According to New York state law, Mr Trump has to be present in person for every day the trial is in session.

The trial is expected to last between six to eight weeks.

This poses an scheduling difficulty for Mr Trump, who is campaignin­g for the presidency and is the presumed Republican Party candidate for the election in November.

Mr Trump is the first US president to be criminally charged, racking up 91 felony counts in four cases.

The New York case is currently on track to be the first and possibly only one to make it to trial before election day in November.

Trump’s appearance in a New York court makes him first former or sitting US president to face criminal charges

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