The Hush-Money Trial

The Wall Street Journal reports Trump's Lawyer in Hush-Money Trial: 'There's Nothing Wrong With Trying to Influence an Election'

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors that in August 2015, Trump, then a presidential candidate, met with tabloid publisher David Pecker and Michael Cohen, his lawyer and fixer, at Trump Tower. The three men hatched a plan to silence people who had bad things to say about Trump's behavior by buying their stories, the prosecutor said.

"It was election fraud, plain and simple," Colangelo said, as the jurors watched intently.

I am struggling to see how paying someone to cover up an illicit affair would ever be considered "election" fraud, but that is the opening accusation.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche later told the panel that Colangelo had told a nice story that wasn't true. "I have a spoiler alert," Blanche said. "There's nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It's called democracy."

I am not sure I would have phrased it that way, but yes, candidates try to influence elections by design. Biden's illegal student aid forgiveness plans are a perfect example.