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Donald Trump “orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt” the 2016 presidential election when he conspired to prevent damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors on Monday at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial.
A defence lawyer countered by saying that Trump “was innocent” and that the case should never have been brought.
The opening statements launched the first criminal trial of a former American president, a case that will unfold against the backdrop of a closely contested White House race in which Trump is not only the presumptive Republican nominee but also a defendant facing the prospect of a felony conviction and prison.
“The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. …
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