Donald Trump hatched a “plot” to “rig” the 2016 presidential election by buying the silence of a former porn star about a sexual relationship, prosecutors charged Monday in the historic trial of the former president of the United States. United.
By presenting the charges before the jury at the opening of the debates, the prosecution immediately wanted to raise the issues of the case and show that it goes well beyond the 34 counts of falsification of accounting documents with which the candidate is accused. Republican in the 2024 presidential election.
Donald Trump “orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to rig the 2016 presidential election”, then “lied in accounting documents, again and again”, to “cover it up”, accused one of the prosecutors, Matthew Colangelo, under the eyes of the Republican billionaire, impassive and silent.
“It’s electoral fraud, pure and simple,” asserted the prosecutor in front of the 12 jurors.
There is nothing illegal about trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy.
According to the prosecution, these falsifications made it possible to conceal, under the cover of “legal fees”, the payment by Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, just before the 2016 election won by Donald Trump.
The money was used to buy the former actress’ silence about a sexual relationship she claimed to have had ten years earlier with the Republican billionaire, while he was married to his wife Melania. Donald Trump denied any affair with Stormy Daniels.
“Where is the crime? »
“Where is the crime in all that has been described to you? » Swept Donald Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, in response to the accusation.
Describing the accounting documents at the heart of the affair as “pieces of paper, nothing else,” he assured that “President Trump had nothing to do with these 34 pieces of paper, other than the fact that he signed them while he was in the White House, while he was running the country. It’s not a crime.”
“There is nothing illegal about trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy,” added Todd Blanche, for whom Donald Trump is “totally innocent.”
The Republican presidential candidate in November arrived in court denouncing, as usual, a political “witch hunt”.
“This is a very, very, sad day for America,” he said before entering the courtroom.
The case threatens Donald Trump with a possible prison sentence a few months before the presidential election on November 5, where he will face Joe Biden.
At trial, the prosecution intends to show that the hidden payments to Stormy Daniels were not the only ones and that they were part of a broader strategy to cover up deals with money and hide embarrassing information from voters during the vote won by the wire by Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton.
Sensitive information that should definitely not be published
First witness to take the stand on Monday, former press boss David Pecker, who at the time headed the American tabloid The National Enquirerhad to tell how he had made himself available to Donald Trump’s campaign by purchasing sensitive information, to hold the exclusivity and then not publish it, a process known as ” catch and kill » (“catch and kill”, in French).
Shortly after David Pecker’s testimony began, the hearing was recessed at midday until Tuesday.
The jurors will also be confronted with the testimonies of Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who has become one of his worst enemies. It was he who had paid the actress – at the request of his boss, he assures – with his own funds, and he has already been convicted by the courts in this case.
The defense began to attack the credibility of this witness, who was also convicted of lying before Congress.
“He is obsessed with President Trump, and his desire to see President Trump go to prison. […] And he admitted to lying under oath,” attacked Todd Blanche.
Donald Trump castigates an empty case and political persecution by increasing the invectives against judge Juan Merchan and prosecutor Alvin Bragg. Prosecutors asked the judge to sanction him for violating the ban on attacking witnesses and jurors, an issue that will be debated Tuesday.
Donald Trump’s mandatory presence at his hearings prevents him from campaigning normally, while his rival Joe Biden tries to score points by plowing the field.
The stakes are all the higher as this trial could be the only one, among the four criminal cases targeting Donald Trump, to conclude before the presidential election.