Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial will move to opening statements today before a list of controversial witnesses are set to take the stand.
Last week, a jury consisting of seven men and five women, along with six alternates, was selected to decide the case on Trump, the presumed Republican nominee who leveraged his fame as a reality TV star and business mogul to win the 2016 presidential election. The opening statements today are expected to give jurors and the voting public the clearest view yet of the allegations at the heart of the case, as well as insight into Trump's expected defence.
The trial focuses on accusations that the former president manipulated his company's internal records to conceal the true nature of payments to his ex-fixer and attorney, Michael Cohen. Cohen arranged payments to suppress negative stories about Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
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Trump holds news clippings as he leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on April 18 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)The witness list includes a porn actor, a former tabloid publisher, and Cohen, who served time in federal prison for his involvement in the hush money scheme and other offences, including perjury before Congress. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass forewarned prospective jurors that they have "what you might consider to be some baggage."
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Here's an overview of the key figures in the first-ever criminal trial of a (current or former) US president:
The judge
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan (TNS)Juan M. Merchan: The judge overseeing the case. He also presided over the Trump Organisation's tax fraud trial in 2022 and is handling a border wall fraud case involving Trump ally Steve Bannon. Trump's lawyers have twice sought his recusal, alleging bias due to his daughter's political consulting firm working for Democrats, including President Joe Biden. However, Merchan has affirmed his commitment to being fair and impartial.
The prosecutors
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (AFP via Getty Images)Alvin Bragg: A former civil rights attorney and law professor, Bragg is a Democrat serving his first term as Manhattan District Attorney. He inherited the Trump investigation upon taking office in 2021 and previously oversaw the prosecution of Trump's company in an unrelated tax fraud case before indicting Trump last year.
Matthew Colangelo: A former high-ranking Justice Department official recruited by Bragg in 2022 to lead the Trump investigation. They previously collaborated on Trump-related cases at the New York Attorney General's Office.
Joshua Steinglass: A seasoned Manhattan prosecutor with over 25 years of experience, Steinglass has handled several high-profile cases, including the Trump Organisation's tax fraud conviction in 2022 and cases involving violent crimes.
Susan Hoffinger: Chief of the District Attorney's Investigation Division, Hoffinger returned to the office in 2022 after more than two decades in private practice. She collaborated with Steinglass on the Trump Organization tax fraud prosecution.
Trump's lawyers
Trump with lawyer Todd Blanche after leaving the Manhattan courtroom (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Todd Blanche: A former federal prosecutor, Blanche previously represented Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, in a mortgage fraud case that was dismissed. He successfully argued that the case, brought by the same prosecutor's office now pursuing Trump, amounted to double jeopardy.
Susan Necheles: A former Brooklyn prosecutor, Necheles is a respected defence attorney in New York City who represented Trump's company in its tax fraud trial last year. She has previously served as counsel to organised crime figures and defended John Gotti's lawyer in the early '90s.
Emil Bove: A former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and star college lacrosse player. Bove has been involved in numerous high-profile prosecutions, including cases against a former Honduran president's brother, a perpetrator of a Manhattan pressure cooker bombing, and a mail bomber targeting prominent figures.
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The potential witnesses
Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney (AFP/Getty Images)Michael Cohen: Trump's former lawyer and confidant. Once a staunch Trump supporter, he now serves as a crucial witness against his former employer. Cohen worked for the Trump Organization from 2006 to 2017 and later served a federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations related to the hush money payments and other unrelated charges.
Adult film actress/director Stormy Daniels (Getty Images)Stormy Daniels: A pornographic actor who received a $130,000 payment from Cohen as part of the hush money scheme. She was paid to remain silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Trump denies the allegation.
Karen McDougal: A former Playboy model who claimed to have had a 10-month affair with Trump in the mid-2000s. She received $150,000 in 2016 from the parent company of the National Enquirer for the rights to her story about the alleged relationship. Trump denies the affair.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial (Getty Images)David Pecker: Former publisher of the National Enquirer and a long-time friend of Trump. Prosecutors allege that he met with Trump and Cohen in August 2015 at Trump Tower and agreed to assist the Trump campaign in identifying negative stories about him.
Hope Hicks: Former White House Communications Director for Trump. Prosecutors claim she communicated with Trump by phone in a frantic effort to suppress allegations of his marital infidelity following the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape just weeks before the 2016 election, in which Trump made lewd comments about women.
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