Opening statements, first witness takes the stand in hush money case NBC 7 San Diego [Video]

Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors Monday at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial.

A defense lawyer countered by saying that Trump was “innocent” and by attacking the integrity of the onetime Trump confidant who’s now the government’s star witness.

The opening statements offered the 12-person jury — and the voting public — a roadmap for viewing the allegations at the heart of the case and Trump’s expected defenses. The attorneys previewed weeks of salacious and potentially unflattering testimony in a trial that will unfold against the backdrop of a closely contested White House race. Trump is not only the presumptive Republican nominee but also a defendant facing the prospect of a felony conviction and prison.

Prosecutors at the outset sought to emphasize the gravity of the case, the …