Trump hush money trial: Testimony ends for the day

For the first time in history, prosecutors are presenting a criminal case against a former American president to a jury as they accuse Donald Trump of a hush money scheme aimed at preventing damaging stories about his personal life from being public.

He took the stand just after noon, sporting a charcoal suit, yellow tie and glasses. The 72-year-old now consults, including for his old employer, the company formerly known as American Media Inc. "There's nothing illegal about what you will hear happened among the National Enquirer, AMI, David Pecker and Donald Trump," Blanche said, adding: "It's not a scheme, unless a scheme means something that doesn't matter, that's not illegal."

"His entire financial livelihood depends on President Trump's destruction," Blanche said. "You cannot make a serious decision about President Trump by relying on the words of Michael Cohen.""I have a spoiler alert," defense attorney Todd Blanche told jurors during his opening statement. "There is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It's called democracy.

Defense attorneys said that he had nothing to do with payments that were made to prevent stories about his sex life from being made public near the end of the 2016 presidential election. "Ask yourself, would a frugal businessman, a man who pinches pennies, repay a $130,000 debt to the tune of $420,000?" Blanche asked.

"Neither Trump nor the Trump Organization could just write a check to Cohen with a memo line that said 'reimbursement for porn star pay-off,'" Colangelo said. "So they agreed to cook the books and make it look like the payment was actually income, payment for services rendered." Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New YorkColangelo told jurors in Donald Trump's criminal hush money case that The Washington Post's publication of the 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape, where Trump was heard on a hot mic "bragging about sexual assaults," had an immediate and "explosive" impact on his presidential campaign.

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