Witnessing a historic moment in the United States, a New York jury has commenced hearing opening statements in the hush-money lawsuit against Donald Trump — marking the first criminal trial involving a former president in the nation’s history.
During the proceedings, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo outlined the accusations against Trump, who stands accused of manipulating business records to hide payments made to an adult film star with whom he allegedly had a romantic involvement.
According to prosecutors, the funds were meant to silence the adult entertainer, Stormy Daniels, prior to the 2016 US presidential election.
Describing the case as a criminal conspiracy and cover-up, Colangelo’s statements were reported by US media outlets present in the New York City courtroom.
Trump’s legal team, in their opening statement, vehemently denied all charges brought forth by the state. “President Trump is innocent. President Trump did not engage in any criminal activities,” asserted his attorney, Todd Blanche.
The commencement of the trial’s opening arguments sets the stage for what is anticipated to be a tense six-week legal battle, with potential far-reaching implications for the nation, as per experts.
“Both sides adhered to the expectations of most legal experts,” remarked Ronald Sullivan Jr, a professor at Harvard Law School and director of the Criminal Justice Institute.
“The prosecution portrayed the actions as a scheme, while the defense countered by asserting that the actions were not criminal in nature,” Sullivan shared with Al Jazeera.
“This is likely where the battle lines will be drawn moving forward.”
Legal threshold
The legal case in New York is just one of four criminal charges facing Trump, who remains the presumptive Republican Party nominee for the upcoming presidential election in November, despite his legal predicaments.
The former president is confronted with 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records concerning payments made to Daniels, who disclosed a sexual encounter with the married real estate mogul.
Post from www.aljazeera.com