‘Catch and kill’ scheme takes centre stage at Trump hush-money trial
Al Jazeera
A day after opening statements, prosecutors to question tabloid publisher over alleged effort to stifle bad press.
The second day of Donald Trump’s criminal trial began Tuesday with New York prosecutors expected to highlight a “catch and kill scheme” allegedly hatched by the former president and the publisher of the National Enquirer to limit the damage done by unflattering revelations.
The plan was struck in the run-up to the 2016 election when Trump was locked in a tight race with Hilary Clinton, his Democratic rival for the White House. Prosecutors have said the attempt at damage control led to hush-money payments made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels, who said she had a sexual relationship with Trump. The Manhattan District Attorney alleged that Trump falsified business documents to cover up the payments, and that the payment was part of a broader scheme to influence the 2016 election.
Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, has denied that he had an affair with Daniels. He has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents related to the payments made to Daniels, representing the first time in US history that an ex-president has faced criminal charges.
The falsification charges specifically relate to the alleged mislabelling of repayments that Trump made to his lawyer, Michael Cohen, who had fronted the $130,000 paid to Daniels in return for her silence. But for the felony charges to stick, prosecutors must convince a jury that the misrepresentations were done with the intent to commit another crime.
In opening statements on Monday, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo indicated that prosecutors would focus on an alleged wider scheme to “undermine the integrity” of 2016 presidential election.
