The case, involving hush money paid to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, carries profound political and legal ramifications. It is a jury trial not only of Trump but of the US, testing its checks and balances and sacred promise that no one is above the law.
Trump joins the ranks of Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, Imran Khan of Pakistan and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil as a world leader in the dock. For the US, this is uncharted territory: even Richard Nixon was not put on trial over his role in the Watergate scandal.
"The historic nature of the first ever trial of a former president will only be matched by the outcome," Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics tsar, said at a briefing hosted by the Defend Democracy Project. "The verdict is more likely than not to be one of guilt and the sentence more likely than not to be a sentence of imprisonment."
Trump is accused of arranging a $130,000 payment made by his lawyer Michael Cohen to Daniels during the 2016 presidential election campaign, buying her silence about an alleged sexual encounter at a hotel in 2006, and falsifying records to cover it up.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 19, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 19, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Ours is an age of confusion. How should we navigate it? Timothy Garton Ash
In these times of planetary polycrisis, we try to get our bearings by looking to the past. Are we perhaps in The New Cold War, as Robin.
The world according to Jason
Covid vaccines, chemtrails, the Great Reset... Why do people invent false conspiracies when there are so many real ones to worry about? There's only one way to find out: George Monbiot asked a believer from his home town
From a small step for man to a giant gold rush for mankind
If the 20th-century space race was about political power, this century's will be about money. But for those who dream of sending humans back to the moon and possibly Mars, it's an exciting time to be alive whether it's presidents or billionaires paying the fare.
A bitter pill Inside the anti-doping movement's civil war
Furore over Chinese swimmers has sparked an ugly dispute between organisations that target athletes who use banned substances
Museum of Yoruba life is custommade for Lagos
Opposite the Nigerian National Museum in central Lagos, a swimming pool and a memorial hall once stood as an integral part of the city, a popular congregation point that evoked a sense of pride.
First steps for Nutbush Quest goes on for origin of line dance
For 50 years, Australian primary school students have been learning the steps to a dance that will carry them through social events and weddings and allow them to locate other Australians across crowded nightclubs anywhere in the world.
Press freedom How political attacks are rising globally
Political attacks on press freedom, including the detention of journalists, suppression of independent media outlets and widespread dissemination of misinformation, have significantly intensified in the past year, according to the annual World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Rio reporters risking all to shine light on the city's underworld
A brutal killing in 2018 has inspired journalists to probe the links between police, politicians and mafia
Is great ape tourism to blame for killing off chimps?
Viruses that only cause common colds in humans are devastating populations of chimpanzees and gorillas
Dig for disaster Calls to move to centre or right won't help Sunak out of this hole
As terrible council and mayoral results rolled in for the Conservatives last Friday, was there any part of Rishi Sunak that regretted sealing Boris Johnson's fate as prime minister by resigning as his chancellor less than two years ago?
