New York prosecutors lay out case against Trump

Donald Trump on trial — "It was election fraud, pure and simple"

(Image credit: Victor J. Blue / The Washington Post / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

What happened

Prosecutors and former President Donald Trump's lawyers presented their opening statements Monday as Trump's first criminal trial got underway in Manhattan. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo laid out the government's roadmap to convincing the jury Trump falsified records about a hush-money payment to a porn actress to illegally influence the 2016 election. Defense attorney Todd Blanche previewed Trump's rebuttal.

Who said what

Starting in 2015, Trump "orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again," Colangelo said. "It was election fraud, pure and simple." Blanche said Trump did nothing illegal. "There is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election," he said. "It's called democracy."

The commentary

Colangelo made clear prosecutors will touch on "tabloid journalism, tawdry affairs and covertly recorded phone calls," ensuring jurors will stay "wide-awake during the six or so weeks" of the trial, The New York Times said. The government's first witness, former National Enquirer chief David Pecker, "may serve as a kind of tour guide" to the "seamy world of tabloid sex scandals" and how he, Trump and former Trump fixer Michael Cohen allegedly conspired to "catch and kill" negative stories to keep them from voters, The Washington Post said.

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What next?

Judge Juan Merchan will hear arguments Tuesday morning on whether Trump violated his gag order, as prosecutors charge.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.