INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Donald Trump arrived at a Manhattan court for a historic criminal trial stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star that could keep
him in court for weeks and complicate his bid to win back the White House.Trump, 77, is the first former U.S
president to face a criminal trial
He is required to attend the trial in Manhattan, which could last through May
Jury selection is expected to take about a week, followed by witness testimony.Police stood guard in front of the courthouse amid a maze of
(1330 GMT) start, and helicopters shadowed the motorcade of black SUVs that ferried Trump from his Trump Tower apartment.A handful of
is regarded by some legal experts as the least consequential of the four criminal prosecutions he faces, it is the only one guaranteed to go
5 election.Trump has pleaded not guilty
If convicted, he could still hold office but Reuters/Ipsos polling shows a guilty verdict could hobble his prospects.The
businessman-turned-politician, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, has used past court appearances to rally his supporters and claim
he is being persecuted by his political enemies.New York state prosecutors accuse him of falsifying records to cover up a $130,000 payment
in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels about a 2006 sexual encounter she has
said they had.Trump has denied any such relationship
He pleaded not guilty last year to 34 counts of falsification of business records in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin
Bragg, a Democrat, in New York state court.In his three other criminal cases, opens new tab, he stands accused of mishandling classified
information and trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden
found that nearly two in three voters found the charges in the case at least somewhat serious
One in four of his fellow Republicans and half of independents said they would not vote for Trump if he were convicted of a felony.Choosing
a jury from a pool of people from heavily Democratic Manhattan could take several days, to be followed by opening statements and witness
Trump has said he plans to testify in his own defense, a risky proposition that would open him up to probing cross-examination by
Clinton.Trump is accused of falsely recording reimbursements to Cohen as monthly legal retainer fees in his New York-based real estate
Falsifying business records in New York is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, though many defendants convicted of that
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating campaign finance law, though the federal prosecutors who brought that case did not charge
All were rejected by judges.Source: Reuters--Agencies
