Targeted by 88 counts in four separate criminal proceedings, Donald Trump, in the middle of the electoral campaign, appears from Monday April 15 in New York for the first of these trials, in the so-called Stormy Daniels case, named after this former pornographic actress whose former president allegedly bought her silence in view of his 2016 presidential campaign.
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In the middle of the electoral campaign, Donald Trump will be in the courtroom from this Monday, April 15. The former American president is accused of having concealed a transaction of $130,000 to Stormy Danielsformer star of pornographic films, with a view to committing a more serious offense linked to the financing of his 2016 presidential campaign. This payment of 130,000 dollars had in fact been disguised as legal fees, to conceal a sexual relationship in 2006, which Donald Trump denies.
The affair was revealed by the Wall Street Journal in 2018 after Trump became president. The Manhattan prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, saw it as electoral fraud, since according to him, the aim of the operation was to conceal from citizens information potentially harmful to the Republican candidate.
However, will this trial prevent Donald Trump from find the White House ? Nothing is less sure. A jury of 12 Manhattan citizens, which must be formed starting this Monday, will have to decide within six to eight weeks of debate. But before that, their political sympathies will be scrutinized, in order to ensure their impartiality.
“ For evangelicals, Trump is literally God’s chosen one »
The former head of state faces a maximum of one year in prison if convicted of falsification, and up to four years if it is proven that this action was aimed at violating campaign finance laws. This trial is not about money and sex, but about whether there was a conspiracy to rig the presidential election, claimed Alvin Bragg.
For the republican candidate, it is a political trial to prevent his return to the White House. But will it have an impact on his campaign and the support of his former voters? Unlikely, believes Romual Sciora, associate researcher at IRIS and specialist in the United States.
There might be a little reluctance, but let’s not forget that for evangelical movements, Trump is literally God’s chosen one and that we must forgive him for his faults since he is God’s envoy to restore America in its initial size. So even among this electorate, the outcome of the “Stormy Daniels” trial will have no impact in my opinion on the election in November.
Romual Sciora, associate researcher at IRIS and specialist in the United States
Despite everything, many voices believe that this legal episode is less serious than the cases targeting him in Washington, Atlanta or Miami. Donald Trump continues to maintain that this trial – like all other cases – is a “ shame “, a ” scam ” and an ” election interference » from the Democratic camp.
He nevertheless assured a few days ago that he would come to testify for “ tell the truth “. “ The truth is that there is no case. They have nothing against me. You have to read the specialists, all the legal specialists. I have not seen a serious lawyer who says that there is a case. And in fact, even you journalists say it’s a little short. »
In the event of a conviction, the lawyers could appeal and postpone the procedure, as they have continued to do until now.
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