An unprecedented trial opens with two visions of Trump [Video]

NEW YORK – Manhattan prosecutors delivered a raw recounting of Donald Trump’s seamy past on April 22 as they debuted their case against him to jurors, the US and the world, reducing the former president to a co-conspirator in a plot to cover up three sex scandals that threatened his 2016 election win.

Their opening statement was a pivotal moment in the first prosecution of an American president, a sweeping synopsis of the case against Trump, who watched from the defence table, occasionally shaking his head.

Moments later, his lawyer delivered his own opening, beginning with the simple claim that “President Trump is innocent”, then noting that he is once again the presumptive Republican nominee and concluding with an exhortation for jurors to “use your common sense”.

The jury of 12 New Yorkers who will weigh Trump’s legal fate before millions of voters decide his political future also heard brief …