This is the first of four lawsuits in which the Republican is a defendant. Trump became the first former president in American history to face a criminal trial.
In addition to him, other figures could be decisive in the trial of the 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records. See below some prominent names in the case.
Trump x Former Porn Actress: see the key characters in the trial
Former porn actress, director and producer Stormy Daniels is the central figure in the accusation against Trump. Daniels alleges that shortly before the 2016 election, Trump lawyer Michael Cohen gave her a secret payment of US$130,000 (about R$669,000) in exchange for silence about a sexual encounter with the former president. This meeting would have taken place 10 years earlier, in 2006.
According to investigations, Trump falsely classified the reimbursements to Cohen as legal expenses to cover up the payment on the eve of the election campaign. The former president denied the meeting and attacked Stormy Daniels several times since the payment became public in 2018.
Former Trump lawyer and known as the former president’s “pitbull”, Michael Cohen is now one of the star witnesses in the criminal case. Cohen was a top executive at Trump’s real estate company before becoming his personal lawyer and mediator for more than a decade – until he himself became the target of personal legal troubles.
Michael Cohen was sentenced to 3 years in prison for violating campaign finance laws and giving false testimony to Congress. He admitted that the secret payment to Stormy Daniels was made on the orders of Trump, who tried to cover up the deal through a series of refunds.
According to prosecutors, Cohen paid Daniels with money out of his own pocket through a shell company and arranged for her to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Trump calls Cohen a liar and tried to block his testimony in this case, in addition to accusing him of perjury.
Of Colombian origin, judge Juan Manuel Merchan has a career marked by firm decisions.
This isn’t the first time Trump and Merchan have crossed paths in court. The judge presided over the Trump Organization’s 2022 tax fraud trial, which led to the conviction of the company’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
He is also the judge in the fraud and money laundering case against Steve Bannon, a strong Trump ally. A 17-year veteran of the court, Judge Merchan and his family do as well They have already been the target of verbal attacks by Trump.
Another key witness in the case, David Pecker is the first to be heard by the New York court. Prosecutors want to know details of the agreement that Pecker would have made with Donald Trump and his team to prevent the story with the former porn star from becoming public.
The former director of the tabloid “The National Enquirer” is accused of agreeing to work with Cohen to suppress negative stories about Trump before the 2016 election. In his court statements this week, Pecker admitted that he directed a newspaper employee not to publish no articles that could harm Trump’s election campaign in 2016 and assumed that the newspaper covered up scandals that could harm the former president.
Trump’s longtime friend Pecker is also accused of helping broker the secret deals with Daniels and a former Playboy model, Karen McDougalwho claimed to have an affair with Trump.
Known for a consistent career, Bragg inherited several investigations from Trump when he took office in 2022. The prosecutor’s priority was the silent agreement being investigated at this time, leading, last year, to Trump’s first criminal indictment. Now, Bragg is the first criminal prosecutor to put Trump on trial, making him a frequent target of the former president’s attacks.
Mateus Colangelo – Promoter
Matthew Colangelo is also a familiar face of Trump. A former high-ranking official in the New York attorney general’s office, Colangelo previously led a civil inquiry into Trump and oversaw an investigation into the Donald J. Trump Foundation that led to its dissolution.
Porn actress case: understand trial that could land Trump in prison
Todd Blanche – Trump’s Lawyer
A former federal prosecutor, Blanche left a large law firm to defend Trump in this case. Blanche also represents Trump in the case of confidential federal documents found in the former president’s home and in the case of federal election interference.
Susan Necheles – Trump’s lawyer
Trump’s lawyer since 2021, Susan Necheles specializes in “white collar crimes”, commonly committed by businesspeople and politicians.
Necheles also represented the Trump Organization in the Manhattan tax fraud criminal trial, which resulted in a conviction and $1.6 million fine. Previously, the lawyer represented defendants in major organized crime and public corruption cases.
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