Prosecutors alleged on Monday that Donald Trump paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in an effort to illegally influence the US presidential election in 2016.
The former president of the United States appeared in Manhattan court on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records regarding payments he made to Michael Cohen, his former lawyer. Prosecutors claim that these payments were reimbursements for money paid to Daniels to bury her claims of a sexual encounter.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told the court, "This was a planned, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior."
"It was political race misrepresentation, straightforward as can be." Trump's legal advisors dismissed the claims during the conference.
Attorney Todd Blanche stated, "I have a spoiler alert: there's nothing wrong with trying to influence an election." "It is known as democracy." Trump off the battle field The trial, which could last up to two months, requires Trump, the Republican nominee who is the favorite, to spend his days in a courtroom rather than on the campaign trail.
"They're trying to get me off the trail for this because I'm the leading candidate. "Checks being paid to an attorney," Trump stated Monday following the hearing.
A guilty verdict would not prevent Trump from running for president again, but because this is a state case rather than a federal one, he would not be eligible for a pardon.
The former president of the United States is also facing separate indictments for allegedly conspiring to overturn Biden's victory in the 2020 election and for keeping secret documents at his Florida mansion, Mar-a-Lago, both of which he denies.
While those cases have been over and over deferred because of difficulties by his legitimate group, the New York quiet cash case has up to this point run on time.
