Trump's first criminal trial to begin in New York
By Madeline Halpert
Donald Trump will set foot in a New York courthouse on Monday and become the first former US president to stand trial in a criminal case.
He is accused of falsifying his business records to disguise a hush-money payment made to Stormy Daniels, a former adult film star, shortly before the 2016 election.
Mr Trump, 77, faces a maximum of four years in jail if convicted, but could avoid jail time and be fined instead.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Mr Trump’s historic trial will take place against the backdrop of his presidential campaign, and could ultimately see the presumptive Republican nominee become a convicted felon months before voters head to the polls in November.
“It’s unprecedented,” said Alex Keyssar, a professor of history and public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. “There’s been nothing remotely comparable to it.”
The trial, which will begin with jury selection on Monday, is expected to last six to eight weeks and will centre around a reimbursement Mr Trump made to his former fixer Michael Cohen.
Cohen, 57, claims he was directed to pay Ms Daniels $130,000 (Β£104,000) in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Mr Trump, something prosecutors have described as an attempt to “unlawfully influence” the 2016 election.
