Barring a last-minute turn of events, a former American president will go on criminal trial for the first time in the nation’s history on Monday.
Donald Trump is fighting 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. If convicted, the charges could land the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in prison: Many legal experts say a realistic sentence ranges from just probation to as much as four years behind bars.
It’s a case that is sure to divide the country. Republican voters delivered electoral victories for Trump in nearly every Republican primary held this year, despite knowing Trump faces four criminal cases, including the New York charges. Trump has portrayed both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and trial Judge Juan Merchan as biased against him.
“There are some people who are just going to see this as a political trial, another one in New York where Trump is certainly not well liked,” Hank Sheinkopf, a New York City-based political consultant who worked for former President Bill Clinton, told USA TODAY.
“And then there are others who will see this as a way to deal with an illegality that should not have occurred − we’re talking about paying off a porno star,” Sheinkopf said
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Jury selection is set to start Monday, just over a year…
