Porn stars, gag orders, sex scandals and zzzs: A to Z of Trump’s hush money trial | US News

Opening statements are scheduled to be heard in Donald Trump’s trial over paying hush money to a porn star.

A jury has been selected in a New York courtroom that will witness the first criminal trial of a former US president.

Opening statements from the prosecution and defense teams will be followed by witness statements.

donald trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records. They are related to $130,000 paid to a porn star Stormy Daniel to buy his silence about an alleged affair in the days before the 2016 US presidential election, which Trump won.

He is accused of criminally altering business records to conceal the payment. His lawyers say the payment was intended to save him and his family embarrassment, not to help him win the election.

Trump denies the charges against him.

Below is an A-Z guide to this historic trial:

TO is for AMI, the publisher whose portfolio includes the National Enquirer magazine. He admitted his involvement in a scheme to suppress damaging stories about Trump before the 2016 election.

b is for Bragg, as in Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who has brought this prosecution. In issuing the indictment, Bragg said: “Someone lied over and over again to protect their interests and evade the laws for which we are all responsible.” He has been the target of racist abuse and death threats. Trump has called him a “thug” and a “degenerate psychopath.”

c is for “Catch & Kill,” the prosecution’s label for the scheme to “capture” stories of Trump’s extramarital affairs and “kill” them before they could be published.

d It’s for Daniels, as in Stormy Daniels. The former porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006 after meeting him at a golf tournament. He denies they had an affair. Daniels claims she accepted $130,000 from Trump’s lawyer to keep it secret days before the 2016 election.

Who is Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the center of Trump’s case, to keep her silence?

my It’s for entries, as in entries on Trump’s company books. The “hush money” payments were made by Trump’s lawyer, who was later reimbursed. The reimbursement was accounted for as legal expenses, also known as “falsification of business records.”

F It is for four years. This is the time Trump could face in state prison for each of the 34 charges against him, up to a maximum of 20 years. However, a prison sentence for a first-time nonviolent offender is considered unlikely.

GRAM It is for silence order. The judge ordered Trump not to make, or order others to make, public statements about witnesses or other participants in the case. The district attorney argues that Trump has violated the order and wants him fined $1,000.

h It’s for Hope Hicks. She is expected to testify as Trump’s press secretary during the 2016 campaign, and one of his most trusted confidants. Her evidence “in the living room” could take us to the heart of the Trump operation as he struggled to quell the scandal.

Yo it is for interference, as in electoral interference. Prosecutors say the falsification of business records was carried out in order to influence the 2016 election.

j It’s for jury. Seven men and five women have been selected to perform their duties.. Six others will participate in the trial as substitutes or replacements, if necessary. Jurors have been subjected to a rigorous evaluation of their ability to be impartial, including questions about their political affiliations, news sources and opinions about Trump himself.

k It’s for Karen McDougal. She is the other woman involved in the hush money payment scheme. The former Playboy model claims to have had an affair that began in 2006 and that she and Trump had sex “many dozens of times.” Her silence was apparently purchased for $150,000.

l It’s for a liar. It is the description used by Trump of the witness at the center of the accusation (see M). Michael Cohen admitted to lying to Congress in 2017 about a Trump project in Russia. Trump highlights his admission in an effort to discredit him.

METER is for Michael Cohen, the “star” witness. He was Trump’s personal lawyer and the one who made the payments to maintain his silence. In 2018, he was jailed for his role in the scheme and sentenced to three years in prison for campaign finance violations. He was also found guilty of lying to Congress, among other crimes. Cohen once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump, but now he calls him a “cheater,” a “thug” and a “con man.” Trump calls Cohen a “rat” and a “proven liar.”

north It is for a New York jurisdiction. Trump, originally from Queen’s in NY, is being tested at home. However, the jury, from which its members were selected, does not fit well with its politics. New York is Democratic territory and that concerns the defense team of a Republican presidential candidate. He has tried, unsuccessfully, to move the trial to another location.

oh It is for other cases. Trump’s three other criminal proceedings are mired in delays and legal arguments. On Thursday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether or not he is entitled to immunity from prosecution in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. His decision, and the speed with which it is made, will determine whether the case will be heard before the November election. The other two, on the mishandling of classified documents and election interference in Georgia, are less likely to move forward in that time frame.

P it’s for Pecker, as in David Pecker. The owner of the AMI publishing house could be a key witness. In a “non-prosecution” agreement, AMI admitted to making payments to maintain silence. Pecker, a former Trump ally, agreed to identify negative stories about Trump so he could buy them and prevent their publication.

The key figures in the case of Donald Trump to maintain their silence

q is for questions about politics in the American administration of justice. District attorneys (prosecutors) are elected in most American states, and Donald Trump points out Alvin Bragg’s Democratic leaning. In a press release the day before opening statements, Trump’s team wrote that “his legal efforts against President Trump were the primary focus of his (election) campaign.”

R is to be removed from the presidential campaign: a Trump complaint. He told media in court: “I’m supposed to be in New Hampshire, I’m supposed to be in Georgia, I’m supposed to be in North Carolina, South Carolina. I’m supposed to be in a lot of places.” different places campaigning, but I have been here all day in a trial that is really a very unfair trial.

Yes It’s because of the sex scandal that loomed over Team Trump amid the 2016 hush payment and possibly fueled the plan. On a tape called “Access Hollywood” that was made public, Trump was heard saying about women: “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” grab them by the (genitals). You can do anything.” Three weeks later the money was paid to Stormy Daniels.

t It is for testimony. Trump insists he will testify during the trial. If so, prosecutors have asked the judge if they can raise his previous brushes with the law, for example, a civil court ruling on sexual assault, to cast doubt on his credibility.

You It is by consensus. Jurors must return a unanimous verdict to convict Trump. It just needs one to disagree.

v It is for the vote, as in the impact that a conviction on Trump will have at the polls. While this and other prosecutions have solidified support for Trump among his MAGA (Make America Great Again) base and boosted fundraising, that is not necessarily the case for voters overall. A recent Politico/IPSOS poll showed that more than a third of independent voters said a guilty verdict would make them less likely to support Trump’s candidacy, potentially significant in a close race.

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W. It’s for a “witch hunt.” Trump repeatedly criticizes this prosecution, and others, as a “political witch hunt.” He sees it as an effort to undermine his presidential election campaign and has called it a “scam” and “an assault on America.”

x it’s because of the cross that potential jurors were asked to place against groups they might have been members of: the QAnon movement, Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, Three Percenters, Boogaloo Boys and Antifa.

AND It’s for yellow. This is how a juror described Trump after seeing him in court. She told MSNBC: “It looked less orange, definitely, more yellowish, like yellow.”

z it’s for zzzz… During jury selection, some observers said Trump fell asleep in court, more than once. New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman noted: “Mr. Trump seemed to nod a couple of times, his mouth went slack and his head fell onto his chest.” Trump’s advisers denied the suggestion.