The only one of the four impending criminal cases against former president Donald Trump that could reach a verdict before the November presidential election will open this Monday with jury selection.
This hush money case will make history as being the first where a former president must stand trial on criminal charges.
During the 6-8 weeks long trial, the NYPD will also boost its presence outside the courthouse and street closures will be implemented in the vicinity of the building. This heightened security is projected to cost the city a hefty amount.
“The Courts have had to adjust staffing to provide for the additional security required at the Manhattan Criminal Court Building during this trial, but no new personnel have been hired. Budgets are not delineated to the specificity of individual cases, said Al Baker, spokesperson for the state Office of Court Administration.
NYPD officers will also be cashing in on overtime during this period of extended security measures.
The impending case may prove to be a considerable obstacle for the former president, forcing him to tackle campaigning while regularly attending a Manhattan courtroom to defend himself against charges involving a scheme to bury allegations of marital infidelity that came up during his first White House campaign in 2016.
The allegations are centered around payoffs to two women, porn star actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who have both said they had had extramarital relations with Trump years earlier. There is also the account of a Trump Tower doorman who alleged that the former president had a child out of wedlock.
Trump maintains that none of these sexual encounters occurred.
Yet, his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, reportedly paid Daniels $130,000 and arranged for the publisher of the National Enquirer supermarket tabloid to pay McDougal $150,000 in a practice known as “catch-and-kill,” when a publication pays for exclusive rights to someone’s story with no intention of publishing it, in order to maintain a relationship with a celebrity figure or to gain leverage over them.
Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The charge carries up to 4 years in prison, though his jail time will ultimately be up to the judge.
