In Trump’s New York ‘hush money’ case, prosecutors push election angle
Al Jazeera
Experts say that prosecutors will attempt to make the case that Trump falsified business records to tip the 2016 race.
It is a blockbuster legal case, set to dominate headlines for weeks to come.
On Monday, Donald Trump becomes the first United States president, past or present, to stand trial in a criminal case. Jury selection is scheduled to be under way this week.
The trial unfolding in New York centres on sensational allegations: that Trump made hush-money payments to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels, with whom he allegedly had an affair. He has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
But despite the tabloid-worthy details, legal experts say something more fundamental is at the heart of the trial: how American elections unfold — and how candidates should be held to account.
The hush-money payments allegedly happened against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential race, and prosecutors are expected to focus on whether efforts to conceal information could have influenced Trump’s victory in that election.
