PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump is set to make history as his hush money criminal trial begins Monday. He is the first former president to stand trial on criminal charges as his hush money case opens Monday with jury selection.
The indictment includes 34 criminal counts including 11 invoices by Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen and dozens of allegedly false business records.
This has to do with more than $400,000 that Cohen received as repayment during Trump's first year in office and with alleged hush money payments paid to Stormy Daniels to deny claims of an affair during the 2016 election.
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Trump blasts judge, prosecutors in hush money case in rally before trial begins
The alleged hush money payments were listed in the Trump ledger as a "legal retainer" which is something prosecutors say was done to hide those expenses.
"If he makes the judge mad enough, if he is wild enough in his antics in the courtroom or in the way in which he portrays himself if he were to testify in this case — if he is particularly indignant, a judge does have some room with a conviction like this to order some amount of jail time," said Andrew Cherkasky, former federal prosecutor.
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Trump seeks to use NY hush money trial to delay classified docs case
On Friday at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said the jury selection would be “largely luck” and said he would “absolutely” testify if asked.
In terms of the classified documents case closer to home, a firm date still has not been set yet by District Judge Aileen Cannon in Fort Pierce.
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