Former US President Donald Trump arrived at a New York courthouse on Monday to face allegations of covering up a hush money payment to a porn star during his 2016 campaign.
Multiple attempts to delay the trial were made before Judge Juan Merchan proceeded with the trial last Monday. Allegations suggest that Trump made a hush money payment to an adult film star in an attempt to conceal damaging information about him during the 2016 election.
Trump had encouraged his supporters to stage peaceful protests outside courthouses across the country. However, few were present to greet him when he arrived at the downtown courthouse, which was surrounded by barricades but open to the public.
Lawyers representing the former president will also present their opening statement in what may be the only one of Trump’s four criminal prosecutions to go to trial before his rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden on November 5.
Prosecutors claim that the $130,000 payment made by Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to porn star Stormy Daniels deceived voters in the final days of Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying company documents filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and denies any sexual contact with Daniels.
Legal experts view this case as the least consequential of Trump’s prosecutions. While a guilty verdict would not prevent him from taking office, it could impact his candidacy.
Prosecutors allege that the payment to Daniels was part of a broader scheme devised by Trump, Cohen, and David Pecker, the former CEO of tabloid publisher American Media, to silence individuals with potentially damaging information about Trump before the November 2016 election.
Pecker is expected to be the first witness called by prosecutors after opening statements, according to reports. He reportedly agreed during an August 2015 meeting with Trump and Cohen to serve as the campaign’s “eyes and ears” by monitoring negative stories about Trump.
