Prosecution lays out 'criminal conspiracy' in Trump trial

NEW YORK, Apr 23 (AFP): Donald Trump engaged in "election fraud" by paying hush money to a porn star just days before the 2016 White House vote, prosecutors said Monday at the first ever criminal trial of a former US president.
"This case is about a criminal conspiracy and a cover-up," Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo said. "He orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election."
Laying out the prosecution's case for the jury, Colangelo said Trump falsified business records to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels over a 2006 sexual encounter that could have impacted his presidential bid.
"It was election fraud, pure and simple," he said.
Trump, 77, dressed in a dark blue suit and blue tie with an American flag pin on his lapel, sat at the defense table flanked by his lawyers, staring straight ahead as the prosecutor delivered his opening remarks.