In a historic moment, former President Donald Trump has entered a not guilty plea, marking the first trial of a current or past US president.
Reported by Reuters, Trump’s hush-money trial is underway, with his legal team vehemently denying any wrongdoing.
During the trial, New York prosecutor Matthew Colangelo and Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche presented their initial arguments. This trial is expected to be the only one of Trump’s four legal cases to reach court before his anticipated re-election battle against President Joe Biden on November 5.
Colangelo informed the jury of Trump’s alleged involvement in a “catch and kill” scheme with Pecker and ex-lawyer Michael Cohen to sway the election in his favor against Hillary Clinton.
He emphasized, “The essence of this case lies in a clandestine operation and subsequent cover-up, aimed at subverting the legitimacy of a presidential election, and Trump’s efforts to mask this electoral fraud.”
Furthermore, jurors were alerted that they would listen to recorded conversations where Trump purportedly finalized the details of the plot.
In contrast, Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, defended his client against the prosecution’s claim of voter deception.
Blanche contended, “It is legitimate to seek to influence an election. This is the foundation of democracy. The portrayal of this as a criminal act is unfounded.”