On Monday, a new phase in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump began in New York. The case involves allegations of purchasing silence from porn actress Stormy Daniels and hiding payments made to her for an extramarital affair they had ten years ago.
The former president is accused of defrauding his company’s records by concealing a payment of US$130,000 to Daniels. Trump has always denied the relationship and claimed that the case was an example of “clear electoral interference” given that he is the favorite to run for president as a Republican in November.
The jury, consisting of 12 people, began hearing arguments from prosecutors who filed charges against Trump. The prosecution argued that the expense Trump incurred at the time was a campaign expense that he hid, leading to the need for a trial. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, is now presenting evidence against him and has classified the case as a “fraud conspiracy.”
Judge Juan Merchan instructed jurors to base their decisions solely on the evidence presented in court and not read or listen to any press reports about the case. This trial marks one of four criminal trials facing Trump as a defendant. A small group of protesters gathered outside the court entrance shouting “no one is above the law.”
In this phase of opening arguments, Judge Merchan informed that due to a medical emergency for an alternate juror, the session would end before 2 pm. Meanwhile, Trump declined to answer questions about his wife Melania’s whereabouts after she was absent from previous days’ proceedings.
