For the first time ever, a former president is being tried on criminal charges. Former president Donald Trump, whose first term ended in January 2021, has begun his third run for president as the presumptive Republican nominee, but his campaign is not without difficulty. Due to being tried in New York City on 34 felony counts, the former president must be in court for a significant amount of time, stymying campaign stops around the country. The case, brought by Alvin Bragg, the New York County District Attorney, alleges that Trump illegally falsified business records for the purpose of influencing the 2016 election in his favor. Specifically, the case claims that Trump paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in exchange for silence about an alleged affair the two had in 2006. Should the jury find Donald Trump guilty, he could face prison time, another first for a former US president.
Elisabeth Grove