Live coverage: Trump's first criminal trial continues with testimony and gag order hearing
On Monday, the first criminal trial of Donald Trump began with both prosecution and defense delivering their opening statements, followed by the first witness in the case, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, taking the stand.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo gave the opening statement for prosecution.
"This case is about a criminal conspiracy,” said Colangelo. “Trump orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his NY business records over and over and over again."
Colangelo spoke for about 45 minutes, explaining how the prosecution would show multiple instances in which Trump had used Pecker’s tabloid as part of a “catch and kill” scheme, but emphasizing how the business records at the heart of this case were allegedly falsified when Trump was desperate to keep his connections with adult film actress Stormy Daniels hidden in the final days before the 2016 election.
“It was election fraud, pure and simple,” said Colangelo.