At opening of hush money trial, prosecutor says Trump planned to ‘corrupt’ 2016 election

Donald Trump “orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt” the 2016 presidential election when he conspired to prevent damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors Monday at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial.

A defence lawyer countered by saying that Trump “was innocent” and that the case should never have been brought.

The opening statements launched the first criminal trial of a former American president, a case that will unfold against the backdrop of a closely contested White House race.

“Donald Trump orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors.

The statements served as an introduction to the colourful cast of characters that comprise the tawdry saga, including a porn actor who says she had a sexual encounter with Trump; the lawyer who prosecutors say paid her to keep quiet about it; and the tabloid publisher who agreed to function as the campaign’s “eyes and ears.”

In his opening statements, Colangelo traced the origins of the 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump could be heard boasting about grabbing women sexually without their permission.

“The impact of that tape on the campaign was immediate and explosive,” Colangelo said, recounting for jurors how prominent Trump allies withdrew their endorsements.
The prosecutor said the Republican National Committee even considered whether it was possible to replace Trump with another candidate.

Within days of the “Access Hollywood” tape becoming public, The National Enquirer alerted Cohen that porn actor Stormy Daniels was agitating to go public with her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, Colangelo said. “At Trump’s direction, Cohen negotiated a deal to buy Daniels’ story to prevent American voters from hearing that,” Colangelo told jurors.

Trump has nonetheless sought to turn his criminal defendant status into an asset for his campaign, fundraising off his legal jeopardy. Hearing the case is a jury that includes, among others, multiple lawyers, a sales professional, an investment banker and an English teacher.

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