A Court Case You Should Actually Pay Attention to.

Editor's note: This article was first written May 21st

Court cases were once a boring, trivial subject for many citizens. Written in highly academic language with convoluted subjects, learning about what was going on in our judicial system is something many Americans do not have the time for in their daily lives. But recently, our judicial system has become a media magnet—from reporters practically running over each other to politicians posting reactionary statements across social platforms. 

Currently running through a Manhattan Criminal court is one of the most shocking and defining cases of politics in the 21st century: involving hush money, an adult film star, and a former president; this case proves that the truth can truly be stranger than fiction. 

What and who is being charged?

Former president and Republican 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump is being tried on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. If found guilty, Trump could face up to 4 years in prison.

Why? 

Micheal Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, alleges that $130,000 was paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election to keep her story of sleeping with Donald Trump from entering the National Enquirer. This method seems to be a habit as Trump also paid in this form to buy the silence of a doorman and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. This money was allegedly pulled from campaign funds that Trump had made for the election cycle. Cohen claims that this money was illegally and intentionally misfiled as “legal expenses” during the financial process of the campaign.

How it’s playing out

The trial officially started on April 15th, 2024. However, arguments didn’t begin until three days later due to difficulty selecting a jury. Initially, there was a pool of 96 jurors, but more than half were dismissed after claiming they could not be impartial. After much more deliberation, a deep dive into the potential jurors' social media presence, and one juror leaving for fear of public harassment, the 12-person jury and six alternates were decided. 

In the opening statements, Matthew Colangelo of the prosecution claimed that the former president “orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election”. He points out that if the Republican voter base were to have known of this affair, then they may not have voted for Trump. While the legal issue of this case is the misfiling of large payments to silence someone, the larger moral issue at the core is withholding this information from the voters so that they did not make an informed vote for that election cycle. 

The Defense countered in their statement. Todd Blanche, the head lawyer for Trump, shot back at the accusation of manipulation by saying, “There is nothing wrong in trying to influence an election. It is called democracy”. He points out that by preventing these stories from coming to light, Trump was merely trying to protect his reputation- one that was already brought down by the release of the Access Hollywood tapes a few weeks prior. He coins the squashing of the story as a “catch-and-kill”- David Pecker, the former CEO of the National Enquirer, alerted Trump to the potential release of the story. Through this, Trump’s team ‘caught’ the story, then “killed” it by paying Daniels off. 

David Pecker was then called to the stand during the questioning portion, in which he admitted to his role as Trump’s “eyes and ears” in the 2016 election. Keith Davidson, another lawyer who helped negotiate the payments, followed him. Afterward, Hope Hicks, a former White House aide, took the stand, describing the administration's panic. Finally, Daniels took the stand, in which she, in loads of detail, described the sexual encounter she had with Trump and explained her side of being paid off. The Defense attempted to cast doubt on her by calling a mistrial for the depth of detail. The judge refused the order.

Why you should care

You should care about this case, whether you are a voter, a non-voter, an American citizen, or a foreign citizen. It shows an innate flaw in the American political system that something like this can happen, even if it is under the noses of citizens. Having people like this in public office—ones who are willing to deceive the electorate and treat women in an abhorrent manner—reflects not just bad domestically but internationally as well

What you can do about it

If you're an American citizen of age, Vote. Pre-register to vote. Inspire those around you to vote. Make sure people are informed about elections and the candidates. 

Being knowledgeable about elections isn’t something uniquely important to the U.S. If you live somewhere else, elections—no matter the size—are just as important. In order to build a better world, we must ensure that our governments reflect the wills and benefits of the people. And to do this, we must ensure that those in office have the best intentions for the people at the forefront of their minds. 

Works Cited

Bekiempis, Victoria. “Trump Trial: Hush Money Was ‘Election Fraud Pure and Simple’, Prosecutors Say.” The Guardian, 22 Apr. 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/22/trump-criminal-trial-new-york-opening-statements. Accessed 14 May 2024.

Chao-Fong, Léonie. “Michael Cohen Hush-Money Trial Testimony: Day Two at a Glance.” The Guardian, 14 May 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/may/09/trump-indictment-hush-money-case-trial-updates. Accessed 14 May 2024.

Curley, Lee John. “Donald Trump Trial: Why It Took so Long to Select a Jury and How the Process Is Different to the UK.” The Conversation, 19 Apr. 2024, https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-trial-why-it-took-so-long-to-select-a-jury-and-how-the-process-is-different-to-the-uk-228228. Accessed 14 May 2024.

“Donald Trump.” AP News, https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump. Accessed 14 May 2024.

Jazeera, Al. “Five Takeaways from Day 15 of Donald Trump’s New York Hush-Money Trial.” Al Jazeera, 10 May 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/10/five-takeaways-from-day-15-of-donald-trumps-new-york-hush-money-trial. Accessed 14 May 2024.

Press, Associated. “A Timeline of Key Events in the Trump Hush Money Trial.” PBS NewsHour, 13 May 2024, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/a-timeline-of-key-events-in-the-trump-hush-money-trial. Accessed 14 May 2024.

SISAK, MICHAEL R. “Hush Money Trial: A Guide to Unique Terms Used at Trump’s New York Criminal Case.” AP News, 5 May 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-catch-kill-criminal-trial-8b59e858a81feea5700e7bfcc77f1c09. Accessed 14 May 2024.

---. “Trump Hush Money Trial: Tabloid Publisher David Pecker Testifies.” AP News, 23 Apr. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-national-enquirer-d44d4a7ce66cc08edb5981b3afb882ba. Accessed 14 May 2024.

“Trump Trial Highlights: Catch up on Day 14 of Hush Money Proceedings.” AP News, 9 May 2024, https://apnews.com/trump-trial-hush-money-live-updates-stormy-daniels-day-14. Accessed 14 May 2024.

“Trump Tried to ‘corrupt’ the 2016 Election, Hush Money Prosecutor Alleges in Opening Statement.” PBS NewsHour, 22 Apr. 2024, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-tried-to-corrupt-the-2016-election-hush-money-prosecutor-alleges-in-opening-statement. Accessed 14 May 2024.