In a historic moment for American politics, the trial involving alleged hush money payments made by former President Donald Trump begins on Monday (April 15th, 2024) with jury selection.
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This is the first time that a former commander in chief faces a criminal trial, and it is also the first of four indictments against Trump to go to trial. As Trump is the presumptive nominee for the Republican ticket in this year’s elections, the trial will result in a unique scenario where a presidential candidate spends his days in court and campaigns during the night, as he has stated.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in an alleged effort to suppress stories about his sex life during his 2016 campaign.
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The charges are related to $130,000 payments that were made by Trump’s company to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. These payments were made on behalf of Trump to prevent the adult film actress, Stormy Daniels, from making public her claims of a sexual encounter with the married business magnate, a decade prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors allege that the payments to Cohen were falsely recorded as legal fees to hide their real purpose, while Trump’s lawyers assert that the payments were legitimate legal expenses, not a cover-up.
