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(The Guardian) Donald Trump faces trial over hush money
Today marks a first in American history: a US president is going on trial for criminal charges.
Donald Trump, winner of the 2016 election, loser in 2020 and now once again the presumptive Republican nominee in 2024, is accused of attempting to interfere with the first of those elections, by paying hush money to hide information from the American voters – specifically, the fact that he had an affair with an adult film star, Stephanie Clifford, AKA Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors say he had his attorney, Michael Cohen, pay $130,000 to a Daniels attorney in order to buy her silence. Similarly, they say he participated in a “catch and kill” scheme with the National Enquirer to buy another affair story – this one from the Playboy model Karen McDougall – in order to not publish it.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records after he allegedly repaid his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the payments but listed them as legal fees. This would, prosecutors say, violate campaign finance law because the payments were intended to keep valuable information away from US voters right before the 2016 election.
All of this came, if you’ll recall, around the time of the infamous Access Hollywood tape, where Trump bragged he could sexually assault women because of his fame. Prosecutors say Trump was terrified that if another story came out, about affairs with a porn star, it could cost him the 2016 election. Of course, the story didn’t come out, and he won the presidency.
It is a tricky case – not necessarily because of the facts of the hush-money payments themselves, but because prosecutors will have to prove Trump’s intent to commit a crime.
It also plays out in the thick of a presidential campaign, where Trump is running neck and neck in the polls with the US president, Joe Biden.
Today marks a first in American history: a US president is going on trial for criminal charges.
Donald Trump, winner of the 2016 election, loser in 2020 and now once again the presumptive Republican nominee in 2024, is accused of attempting to interfere with the first of those elections, by paying hush money to hide information from the American voters – specifically, the fact that he had an affair with an adult film star, Stephanie Clifford, AKA Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors say he had his attorney, Michael Cohen, pay $130,000 to a Daniels attorney in order to buy her silence. Similarly, they say he participated in a “catch and kill” scheme with the National Enquirer to buy another affair story – this one from the Playboy model Karen McDougall – in order to not publish it.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records after he allegedly repaid his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the payments but listed them as legal fees. This would, prosecutors say, violate campaign finance law because the payments were intended to keep valuable information away from US voters right before the 2016 election.
All of this came, if you’ll recall, around the time of the infamous Access Hollywood tape, where Trump bragged he could sexually assault women because of his fame. Prosecutors say Trump was terrified that if another story came out, about affairs with a porn star, it could cost him the 2016 election. Of course, the story didn’t come out, and he won the presidency.
It is a tricky case – not necessarily because of the facts of the hush-money payments themselves, but because prosecutors will have to prove Trump’s intent to commit a crime.
It also plays out in the thick of a presidential campaign, where Trump is running neck and neck in the polls with the US president, Joe Biden.
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