At the heart of Trump’s criminal trial, a system of hush money set up before the 2016 election
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Former porn star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, will be a key figure in the trial about to open in New York on Monday, April 15. Eighteen years after her brief affair with Donald Trump, she will be at the center of the media storm.
But the Manhattan district attorney, Democrat Alvin Bragg, who has his reputation and credibility at stake here, will not be focused on the details of the affair. The prosecutor must prove that Trump’s system of protection against scandal, in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, is criminally reprehensible.
Indicted on 34 counts at the beginning of April 2023, Trump is facing a trial full of material evidence and testimony. The Republican candidate is accused of arranging payments, through his counsel Michael Cohen, to ensure the cover-up of possibly embarrassing testimonies, including that of women who had sexual intercourse with him.
‘Catch and kill’
According to the investigators, “the participants violated election laws” and recorded false expenses in the accounts of various entities involved. The exact nature of the expenses incurred, from August 2015 until December 2017, was also concealed. But the great challenge for the prosecution will be to demonstrate Trump’s willingness to lie to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and falsify the accounts of the Trump Organization.
“Catch and kill” – that was the name of the candidate’s crisis strategy in the run-up to the election. Catch the stories and nip them in the bud. There was a time when Trump cared about his reputation. A newcomer to politics, the transgressive entrepreneur shaking up the conservative camp was poised to create a surprise by securing the Republican nomination. He was up against Hillary Clinton, the embodiment of the Democratic elite, who had no strong policy proposals but the privilege of being the first woman to come so close to the Oval Office.
The candidate’s vulnerabilities were numerous and long-established. The concept of a preventive shield to protect him was reportedly formalized during a meeting in August 2015. The participants were Trump himself, his adviser Cohen and David Pecker, head of American Media Inc. which owns The National Enquirer tabloid. This newspaper of great means and non-existent scruples had its own political agenda, its priorities, its stars to highlight and its targets to overwhelm.
Pecker reportedly agreed to be the “eyes and ears” of the businessman’s campaign, on the lookout for possible negative scoops. The first alert concerned a Trump Tower doorman who was paid $30,000 (€28,200) for his silence on a supposedly scandalous piece of information: The candidate allegedly had a secret child with a tower employee.
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