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NEW YORK — The first witness took the stand Monday in the trial of former President Donald Trump, who is accused of illegally covering up hush money payments in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.
In opening statements, prosecutors said Trump, his former attorney Michael Cohen and former American Media Inc. CEO David Pecker conspired to “catch and kill” negative stories about Trump in an effort to influence the election. They said Trump illegally labeled payments to Cohen as legal fees when they were actually made to reimburse the attorney for money he paid adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged affair she had with Trump.
The former president’s attorney denied that he did anything wrong, repeating his claims that the case should not have been brought and saying that witnesses have reasons for lying about the payments. Trump earlier pleaded not guilty …
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