NEW YORK: Donald Trump will become the first former president in US history to stand trial on criminal charges when jury selection begins on Monday in a New York case that stems from payments made to an adult film actress ahead of the 2016 election, reported dpa news.
Trump, who was the 45th president of the United States and is set for an election rematch with incumbent President Joe Biden in November, is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a scheme involving his former lawyer Michael Cohen to conceal the US$130,000 pay-off made to Stormy Daniels.
Daniels said the money was given to keep her quiet about an affair she had with Trump in 2006. He has admitted to paying her on the eve of the 2016 election to stop her “false and extortionist accusations” but denies any sexual encounter.
Trump’s lawyers made several unsuccessful attempts to have the hush money trial delayed, a tactic they have also used in the former president’s three other ongoing criminal cases.
The process of selecting a jury in New York, a heavily Democratic city, could take several days, with potentially hundreds of people ultimately whittled down to just 12 jurors and six alternates. The whole trial, in which Cohen and Daniels are expected to testify for the prosecution, could last up to eight weeks.
Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, faces a maximum of four years behind bars if convicted. - Bernama, dpa
