This is a brief update from Yahoo News on the criminal and civil cases against former President Donald Trump. Here are the latest developments:
What happened today
Trump’s historic trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records began Monday in Manhattan. During opening arguments in the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president, prosecutors told jurors that Trump engaged in a “criminal conspiracy and cover-up” when he tried to hide a $130 payment $000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump’s lawyers countered that the payment and the way it was reported did not violate any laws. “There is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election; it’s called democracy,” said defense attorney Todd Blanche. “They added something sinister to this idea, as if it were a crime. You will learn that this is not the case.
Tell me more
Key lines from prosecutors during opening arguments: Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors that Trump’s secret payments violated campaign finance laws. “This was a planned, coordinated, long-term conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal spending, to silence people who had something negative to do with say about his behavior, using falsified company records. It was election fraud, pure and simple. Colangelo said he would play jury recordings, for example, of Trump directing his then-attorney. Michael Cohen pay Daniels, including what he said was a remark made by Trump: “So what do we have to pay for this, 150?” The payment to Daniels was part of a broader conspiracy between Trump, Cohen and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, Colangelo said. “These three men… made a deal in that meeting together, they conspired to influence the 2016 presidential election.”
Key points from defense attorneys during opening arguments: Blanche began her presentation with a statement that she hopes will stick in the minds of the jurors. “President Trump is innocent,” he said, repeatedly referring to his client as if he were still president. “President Trump has committed no crime. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office should never have brought this case to trial. Blanche also took aim at one of the prosecution’s star witnesses, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who arranged and made the payment to Daniels. “Unbeknownst to President Trump, during all the years Mr. Cohen worked for him, Mr. Cohen was also a criminal,” Blanche said. “He cheated on his taxes, he lied to the banks, he lied about side businesses.” In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts, including tax evasion and campaign finance violations, committed while working for Trump and was sentenced to three years in prison.
David Pecker called as the first witness: Prosecutors called Pecker to testify about his efforts to help Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election by buying potentially damaging stories about him and…
