Trump case, the accusation: “Criminal plan to influence votes”. The defense: “It’s not a crime”

The trial in which Donald Trump is accused of having manipulated the 2016 presidential election comes to life. “This is a very, very sad day in America,” the former president told reporters before entering the trial room, describing himself as once again the victim of a “witch hunt”. The prosecution has a different opinion: “This case – New York prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said in the courtroom – concerns a criminal conspiracy”, with Trump having first “orchestrated a plan to manipulate the 2016 elections” and then he allegedly covered up, “repeatedly lying in his corporate filings in New York.” This would also include the 130 thousand dollars paid to the porn star Stormy Daniels – with whom she allegedly had an affair – so as not to reveal private information that could have hindered her rise to the White House. The defense does not give in: “Donald Trump is innocent, he has not committed any crime”, said Todd Blanche, one of the tycoon’s lawyers, at the beginning of his preliminary statements. Indeed: “There is nothing wrong in trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy”, continued the lawyer. Trump must defend himself against a total of 34 charges.

The accusation: “A conspiracy that began in 2015”

The accusation speaks of a “conspiracy” that began in 2015, shortly after Trump announced his candidacy, during a meeting with his lawyer Michael Cohen and the publisher of National Enquirer David Pecker: he is the first great witness, who will speak again tomorrow, April 23rd. Together with Trump, Pecker and Cohen allegedly organized how to “influence the presidential election by withholding negative information about Trump in order to help him get elected.” Attorney Colangelo cited Cohen’s payments to Stormy Daniels, made just weeks before the 2016 election, to keep her from speaking publicly about her relationship with Trump. Only after the vote did he continue the accusation, the former president reimbursed Cohen and the two “masked the purpose.” Trump allegedly stated “in corporate documents that he was paying Cohen for legal services under a non-existent agreement.”

The defense: “No crime was committed”

Trump “is a man, he is a husband, he is a father: he is a person just like you and just like me”, said lawyer Todd Blanche, who refers to his client as “president”. For the defense, the news about the alleged relationship between Trump and Daniels would be nothing more than “an attempt to embarrass Trump and his family”. Blanche then lashed out both against Cohen – calling him “an admitted liar” – and against the accusatory system of the trial, speaking of the 34 charges as “pieces of paper” that do not reveal any crime. For Blanche “the jury will discover a lot of reasonable doubts”.

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