This Monday (22) marks a new phase of the first criminal trial of former president Donald Trump (2017-2021), which takes place in New York, when witnesses will be heard and the accusatory arguments against the Republican in the case involving the alleged purchase of silence from porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump is accused of hiding payments he made to Daniels for her silence in an alleged extramarital affair they had ten years ago. The former president faces 34 accusations that he allegedly defrauded his company’s records to hide a payment of US$130,000 (R$660,000) to the porn actress, so that she would not reveal the alleged relationship to the media during the 2016 campaign. , which could hinder his candidacy. Trump has always denied the relationship.
At the entrance to the court this morning, the Republican once again classified the case as “clear electoral interference”, given that he is the favorite to run for president for the Republican Party in November.
The jury, made up of 12 people, began to hear the arguments of the prosecutors who filed the complaint against the former president.
The prosecution alleges that the expense the politician incurred at the time was, in fact, a campaign expense that Trump hid, which is why he must be tried. The payment was made by Republican Michael Cohen’s former lawyer, who is now presenting arguments against the former president.
During a statement to the jury, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo classified the case as a “fraud conspiracy”. According to him, “the defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.”
According to the broadcaster NBC, Judge Juan Merchan asked jurors not to read or listen to any reports of the case in the press. He also told jurors not to conduct research on the case in the library, online or any other news source, emphasizing that decisions made “should be based solely on the evidence presented in court.” This is the first of four criminal trials Trump faces as a defendant.
The trial, which enters its second this week, featured a small group of protesters against the former president, who protested at the entrance to the court shouting “no one is above the law”.
Minutes before the start, Trump had decided not to answer some of the journalists’ questions about the whereabouts of his wife, Melania Trump, who had been absent in previous days and had rarely been seen by his side in recent months.
In this phase of opening arguments, the responsible judge, Merchán, informed that today’s session will end before 2pm (local time, 3pm Brasília), as scheduled, due to a medical emergency for an alternate juror.
