The porn star, doorman and disgraced lawyer turned star witness: Who’s who in Trump’s hush money case?
On Monday 15 April, Donald Trump will become the first current or former president ever to be criminally prosecuted in America when he heads to trial in Manhattan to face charges of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to an adult film star before the 2016 presidential election.
The trial arrives more than a year on from the landmark day when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought a historic 34-count indictment against him, years after the district attorney’s office began investigating the former president’s financial statements.
Though the former president is charged with falsifying business records, Mr Bragg alleges that this was only part of a wider “catch and kill” scheme that Mr Trump engaged in to suppress negative stories as he campaigned – successfully – for the White House in 2016.
The historic trial may last up to two months and feature testimony from several key players involved in the case.
Among them is former publisher of The National Enquirer David Pecker who agreed to help the then-presidential candidate suppress stories, adult film star Stormy Daniels whose alleged affair is central to the case – and a former doorman of Trump Tower who spilled what he claimed to be one of the former president’s biggest secrets.
Here The Independent breaks down who’s who in the trial:
Donald Trump, 77, is going on trial accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments that were made by his then-lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Trump directed Cohen to pay Ms Daniels $130,000 just 12 days before the 2016 presidential election to silence her about their alleged sexual affair.
After successfully becoming president, Mr Trump allegedly reimbursed Cohen but misrepresented the payments as part of a non-existent retainer for Cohen’s legal services.
The Manhattan district attorney claims the payments were part of a larger scheme that Mr Trump engaged in to conceal his criminal activity, including attempts to violate federal election laws. Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Michael Cohen, 51, was Mr Trump’s attorney from 2006 until 2018. He is often referred to as the former president’s “fixer” for his role in the catch-and-kill scheme.
Fast forward to today and he is the Manhattan district attorney’s star witness in the case.
In 2018, Cohen admitted to participating in the scheme with Mr Trump and David Pecker, the former CEO of American Media Inc (AMI), in the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election to quash negative stories about Mr Trump and effectively influence the outcome of the election.
Cohen claims that at the direction of Mr Trump, he paid Ms Daniels $130,000 to stop her from going public with a potentially damning story about an alleged extramarital affair. He then misrepresented those payments in reimbursement requests and on tax documents.
In 2018, Cohen struck a plea deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to various crimes in connection to the scheme including tax evasion, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and campaign finance violations. He served three years in prison.
For admitting wrongdoing – and implicating Mr Trump in it – the former president has turned his back on Cohen, now referring to him as a “liar” and “rat”.
Cohen’s credibility remains questionable after a judge suggested the former lawyer committed perjury while testifying during Mr Trump’s civil fraud trial.
Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford), 45, is an adult film star who claims to have had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006.
She threatened to go public with the allegations during Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential run, leading Cohen to pay her $130,000 and force her to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in return for her silence.
