Donald Trump becomes the first former U.S. president to face a criminal trial on Monday in a case involving hush money paid to a porn star that could keep him tied up in court for weeks and complicate his bid to win back the White House., 77, is required to attend the trial in Manhattan, which is expected to last through May. Jury selection is expected to take about a week, followed by witness testimony.
The businessman-turned-politician, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, has used past court appearances to rally his supporters and claim he is being persecuted by his political enemies. In his three other criminal cases, he stands accused of mishandling classified information and trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. He has painted all the criminal cases against him as a plot by Biden’s Democrats to undermine his presidential campaign.
Bragg has argued that the case concerns an unlawful scheme to corrupt the 2016 election by burying a scandalous story that would have harmed Trump’s campaign. Trump’s lawyers have said the payment to Daniels did not amount to an illegal campaign contribution. Daniels and Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who has testified that he made the payments to Daniels, are among the witnesses expected to testify. Trump has said he plans to testify in his own defense, a risky proposition that would open him up to probing cross-examination by prosecutors.