Opening statements were underway Monday morning in President Trump's 'no-pay' trial in New York City.
Prosecutors under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg lied in public statements and “orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election” when President Trump paid porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged infidelity. He claimed that
Trump denied the incident.
“Defendant Donald Trump hatched a criminal plan to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. He then covered up his criminal conspiracy by repeatedly lying about his New York business records,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors, according to the AP.
Alvin Bragg indicted Trump in April on 34 felonies related to the “admission fee” he paid to Stormy Daniels.
Trump was accused of plotting to pay hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels (aka Stephanie Clifford) to her then-attorney Michael Cohen and prevent a story about their alleged affair from being published in the National Enquirer.
The money paid to Stormy Daniels did not come from Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
According to Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina, the payments were made through internal business records. He says no tax deductions were made and there was no obligation to file them with the FEC.
Alvin Bragg did not explain in his charging documents exactly what he was seeking to convict Trump about.
Bragg told reporters he didn't have to tell anyone what the underlying felonies were.
This is a striking example of a dual judicial system.
In 2022, the FEC fined Hillary Clinton and the DNC $113,000 for lying about funding the fake Russian dossier.
The FEC fined Clinton and said her campaign violated its rules because it failed to disclose payments that came to Fusion GPS through DNC law firm Perkins Coie.
Hillary Clinton received a light slap on the wrist for her crimes while Trump was on trial in New York.