5 things we learned from Trump’s hush money trial opening statements

The prosecution and defense delivered their opening statements in Donald Trump ‘s hush money trial on Monday morning. The trial could last for six weeks or more, as the jury hears evidence alleging that the former president falsified business records to hide how he had bought the silence of Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. But Monday brought the first real insight into the strategies deployed by both sides. And the court heard from its first witness, David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer. This is what we learned from the first day of evidence in the case:

The jurors are still anxious: They are sitting in the biggest court case of the year with a defendant who can rely on an ardent army of supporters. No wonder jurors continue to express concerns. The day began with Judge Juan Merchan reporting that juror nine had called the court last week expressing worries about the level of media attention, ‘and isn’t 100 percent sure they wanted to be here today.’

He took the defense and prosecution to his robing room to meet with the juror, who then decided they can continue. But don’t be surprised if this issue comes up again. One dropped out last week after being seated and sworn in.

Prosecutors went straight to 2016: On its face, the case is about hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and fiddled business documents. But the Manhattan district attorney’s office immediately said it was all about keeping voters in the dark just before they went to the polls in November 2016.

“This case is about a criminal conspiracy and fraud,’ said Matthew Colangelo. ‘The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that conspiracy by lying in his New York business records, over and over and over again.’

Trump cannot punch back: As he heard the outline of the case against him, Trump sat largely motionless in his chair. As the jury’s eyes fixed on Colangelo, the former president avoided them, looking ahead. His shoulders slumped slightly. He had to listen to the transcript of the infamous ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, in which he was caught on a hot mic talking about women and saying he could: ‘Grab ’em by the [expletive], you can do anything.’ For a man used to dominating any room he enters, all he could do was shake his head when the prosecutor urged the jury to consider the evidence and find him guilty.

The defense’s ‘spoiler alert’: The defense pursued several lines on Monday. It tried to discredit key witnesses and laid the groundwork for the idea that any hush money payments had nothing to do with the election. But lead attorney Todd Blanche introduced a ‘so what’ defense too. ‘I have a spoiler alert,’ he told the court. ‘There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy.’

Get set for David Pecker’s communications: Pecker took the stand for barely 20 minutes before the court was adjourned Monday. As the then owner of the National Enquirer, the defense puts him at the center of efforts to buy up damaging stories about Trump which were never published in a so-called ‘catch and kill’ scheme.

On Monday, he answered a bevvy of questions that identified his four phone lines and two work email addresses (one for general messages, operated by his assistants, and one for more sensitive information.) You can be sure that his communications with Trump and his aides will come into evidence before long, and it will be vital to have identified which numbers and emails belong to him.

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