NEW YORK - At Donald Trump's criminal trial, there is no dispute about a central underlying fact: the month before the 2016 presidential election, his personal lawyer and fixer paid a porn star for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
Trump, the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 presidential election, denies any such encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Falsifying a business record is a misdemeanor in New York. To get a jury to convict him on felony charges, prosecutors must prove that Trump knew Cohen's payment just before the 2016 election was illegal and that the former president was trying to conceal it.
Trump's lawyers have said in court papers that his 2017 payments to Cohen were, in fact, monthly legal retainers. They also said accounts of extramarital affairs could have harmed the reputations of Trump and his family regardless of his candidacy, meaning the Daniels payment was not a campaign contribution.
Trump has branded Cohen a serial liar, and his lawyers have argued Cohen is falsely implicating his former boss to promote his podcasts and books. "Michael Cohen's credibility has been shot quite a bit, and the defense will have a good opportunity to attack his testimony," said Tanisha Palvia, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and a lawyer at Moore & Van Allen.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: HuffPostCanada - 🏆 61. / 53 Read more »
Source: globebusiness - 🏆 31. / 66 Read more »
Source: CTVNationalNews - 🏆 82. / 51 Read more »
Source: GlobalCalgary - 🏆 50. / 61 Read more »