NEW YORK ¨C New York prosecutors said on the first day of Donald Trump¡¯s criminal hush money trial that the former president broke the law and corrupted the 2016 election by trying to cover up sexual encounters with a porn star and a Playboy model, while his defense lawyer said he committed no crime.
Jurors in the historic trial also heard briefly from the prosecution¡¯s first witness: former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who prosecutors say participated in a ¡°catch and kill¡± scheme to suppress unflattering stories about Trump and help him get elected.
In the first-ever trial of a former U.S. president, Trump is charged with falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says they had 10 years earlier. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies the encounter took place.
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