New York prosecutors asked a judge at the start of Donald Trump‘s criminal hush money trial on Monday to fine him and remind him he could go to jail for violating a gag order about potential witnesses.
They spoke on the start of a historic trial, the first of a former U.S. president, which stems from a 2016 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
New York state prosecutors accuse Trump of falsifying records to cover up a $130,000 payment in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign to buy the silence of Daniels about a 2006 sexual encounter she has said they had.
Trump has denied any such relationship. He pleaded not guilty last year to 34 counts of falsification of business records in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, in New York state court.
If convicted, Trump could still hold office but Reuters/Ipsos polling shows a guilty verdict could hobble his prospects.
