Is Trump Going To Jail And How Long Will Stormy Daniels Quiet Money Trial Last? The answers to all your questions

Donald Trump will be the first former president to go on trial Monday when he goes to court in Manhattan to face felony charges in connection with the hush money scheme to keep porn star Stormy Daniels quiet during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The eyes of the world will be on downtown New York as the 77-year-old presumptive Republican nominee faces the judge and sits in court while a panel of 12 jurors is selected.

Trump’s lawyers have filed a series of motions to delay the trial. But the former president has repeatedly lost in those efforts, setting the April 15 start date.

Trump faces 34 felony charges in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who accuses the former president of using his business records to hide the $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair.

It is the first ever trial against a former US president. Monday starts with jury selection, overseen by judge Juan Merchan.

‘The selection of the jury is largely luck. It depends on who you get, Trump said Friday at Mar-a-Lago.

Below, DailyMail.com has broken down all the details and answered all the pressing questions about the case:

THE BACKGROUND

Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, shortly after Melania gave birth to their son Barron.

It happened when the two met at a well-known golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

In an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes that aired March 25, 2018, Daniels said she and Trump had sex once. She also claims she hit him with a magazine that had him on the cover.

The former president has denied the affair and claims the trial is a politically motivated ‘witch hunt’.

THE PAYMENT

On January 12, 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that then-Trump fixer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in October 2016, a month before the presidential election, to prevent her from discussing the alleged affair, thereby hurting Trump’s presidential chances.

Prosecutors allege that Trump reimbursed Cohen in a series of installment payments processed by his company that prosecutors say were fraudulently disguised as corporate legal expenses in violation of New York law.

Cohen, Trump and then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg entered into an agreement that Cohen would be reimbursed a total of $420,000 for the Daniels payment, prosecutors allege.

That includes a $60,000 bonus, $50,000 for another expense and $180,000 to cover taxes — which would be made through 12 monthly payments of $35,000 each.

Cohen submitted invoices for the $35,000 payments, according to Trump Organization business records.

THE CHARGES

The 34 counts include 11 counts on the checks to Cohen, 11 on the monthly invoices Cohen submitted to Trump’s company, and 12 involving ledger entries for Trump’s trust.

WILL TRUMP GO TO COURT?

Under New York state law, Trump is required to attend his entire trial in person.

The trial is expected to last about six weeks to two months, and Trump’s courtroom demands will hamper his ability to campaign for president.

The court will set aside all weekdays from Wednesdays, meaning Trump could use the middle of the week over the weekend for campaign events.

Although the trail will not be televised, images of Trump in court will likely be allowed.

In the past, television cameras have been allowed in the courthouse hallway, and Trump has paused to address them.

WHO WILL WITNESS?

Daniels and Cohen have already indicated they will testify for the prosecution.

Other witnesses could include Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who received a $150,000 payment from the National Enquirer for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump, which the publication did not publish in a move known as a ‘catch-and ‘ -kill.’

Former Trump aides, including his longtime aide Rhona Graff, his former director of Oval Office operations Madeleine Westerhout and former White House aide Hope Hicks, could also testify.

David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, is also expected to testify.

Trump says he will testify in his own defense.

“Yes, I would testify, absolutely,” he said Friday at Mar-a-Lago.

THE ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS

Prosecutors are expected to delve into two other hush-money deals involving The National Enquirer and Donald Trump.

The first involves the tabloid’s $30,000 payment to a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed to know Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. The National Enquirer later determined that the claim was untrue.

The second involves McDougal, Playboy’s Playmate of the Year in 1998, who wanted to sell her story of an affair with Trump during the 2016 campaign.

Trump denies having an affair with her.

Bragg and his team will argue that these incidents prove that the payment to Daniels was not a one-time event, but part of a broader effort to influence the 2016 election.

Trump’s lawyers have said he paid Daniels to spare himself, his company and his family embarrassment, not to help his campaign.

TRUMP’S DEFENSE

The former president’s defense team will likely try to portray Cohen as a Trump-hating liar.

The two men – who were once very close – had an argument years ago.

Trump’s lawyers are also expected to point out that Cohen pleaded guilty to a number of federal crimes, including for his role in the hush money payment.

In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court to five counts of tax evasion, false statements and campaign finance violations stemming from his payment to Daniels.

He was sentenced to three years in prison, which began in May 2019 and ended slightly early in November 2021, with part of his sentence served at home during the COVID pandemic.

WHAT PUNISHMENT WILL TRUMP GET?

If convicted, Trump could face up to four years in prison for each of the 34 charges against him.

Under New York law, falsifying business records is usually a misdemeanor, but it can become a felony when there is an “intent to defraud” that includes an intent to “commit another crime or to aid or conceal” another crime.

Bragg alleges Trump covered up a federal campaign finance violation, a state election crime and tax fraud.

WILL TRUMP GO TO JAIL?

If convicted, Trump could face a sentence of up to four years in prison in New York on each charge, which is a maximum of 136 years.

Since it is a state crime, only the governor of New York could pardon him. That office is currently held by Democrat Kathy Hochul.

But given Trump’s age — he’s 77 — his lack of prior convictions and his status as a former president who can run for president again, the judge may grant him probation.

Most first-time offenders in non-violent cases are often sentenced to probation.

There are also the added complications of his Secret Service detail. Provisions were to be added to house his protective detail should he be incarcerated.

He could be placed under house arrest at any of his homes, including Mar-a-Lago, which is at the center of his case over classified documents.

WHAT OTHER TRIALS DOES TRUMP FACE?

More.

There are two federal lawsuits — one to try to overturn the 2020 election and another for alleged mishandling of White House documents.

There is also a state case in Georgia looking at his attempt to overturn the election results there.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The hush money case is so far the only one with a concrete court date, as Trump has sought to delay the others.

His federal election case is on hold until the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s motion to dismiss — he cites presidential immunity — which could take until June.

His docket case had its scheduled May trial date pushed back after Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon pushed back deadlines in the case.

The Georgia case also still has no trial date, although prosecutors have requested that it begin in August.