The Know Daily - Monday 15 April 2024

_{Read in 5m 38s ∙ Listening to Joni Mitchell ∙}

Newcastle United supporters who are deaf or have hearing loss were able to “feel” the noise at the club’s game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, thanks to special shirts that convert the noise around the stadium to vibrations. The initiative - believed to be the first of its kind in European football - has been hailed as “truly game-changing”. 👏 

🇺🇸 Trump on trial

Donald Trump will today make history as the first former US president to stand trial on criminal charges, as his hush money case opens in New York. 

First things first - what’s the case about?
Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a bid to bury damaging stories that he feared could hurt his 2016 campaign. Prosecutors allege that Trump covered up $130,000 of payments made by his former lawyer to adult film star Stormy Daniels, with whom Trump allegedly had an affair.

To win on the felony charge, prosecutors must show that Trump not only falsified records, but did so in order to commit or conceal a second crime, such as violating tax and campaign finance laws, explained Associated Press.

What’s happening today?
Prosecutors and Trump’s legal team will begin selecting the jury. This will involve sorting through hundreds of New Yorkers to find 12 individuals who can be impartial about the “polarising” former president, said NBC News - so it’s not a straightforward task.

It could be one to two weeks before opening arguments can begin, with the trial expected to last six to eight weeks. Trump denies the charges, calling the case a “witch hunt”.

This is all a pretty big deal, right?
Right! Not only is Trump the first former president to stand trial on criminal charges, he’s also the presumptive Republican candidate for November’s presidential election (where he’ll face Democrat Joe Biden).

Trump faces three other criminal cases - two relating to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, the other relating to his handling of restricted materials - but the hush money case could be the only one to reach a verdict before the election. 

So what happens if he’s found guilty?
While each of the 34 charges carry a prison sentence, many legal experts believe that Trump is unlikely to go to prison if convicted. But even if Trump is found guilty and sentenced to jail time, there’s nothing in the US constitution to prevent him from running for president again - even from behind bars.