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Trump trial live updates: DA

alleges Trump 'cooked the
books' to bury 'porn star
payoc'
Opening statements began this morning. Former
National Enquirer publisher David Pecker is
expected to testify for the prosecution.

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Updated April 22, 2024, 5:26 PM GMT+2

By NBC News

What to know about Trump's trial today

Opening statements began today in
former President Donald Trump's
historic New York criminal trial.

Lawyer Matthew Colangelo from

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin
Bragg's oEce detailed an alleged
"catch and kill" scheme with
Trump's blessing. Trump's attorney
Todd Blanche will deliver the
opening statement for the defense.

A source with direct knowledge of

the situation tells NBC News that
former National Enquirer publisher
David Pecker will be the Irst witness
for the prosecution. Prosecutors
have described Pecker as a central
Igure in the alleged scheme to bury
claims from women who said they
had aJairs with Trump.

Judge Juan Merchan said that court

will end at 12:30 p.m. ET today and
at 2 p.m. tomorrow for Passover.

Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying

business records related to the hush
money payment to adult Ilm actress
Stormy Daniels. He has pleaded not
guilty and denied a relationship
with Daniels.

3 NEW UPDATES

8m ago / 5:19 PM GMT+2 Share

'Penny-pincher' Trump was willing to pay

extra for catch-and-kill stories
Jonathan Allen and Corky Siemaszko

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said Trump

was a "frugal businessman," but didn't count
coins when it came to covering up his alleged
aJairs.

Prosecutors will produce evidence to show

that Trump “was a very frugal businessman,
believed in pinching pennies," Colangelo said.
"He believed in watching every dollar. He
believed in negotiating every bill. It’s all over
all of the books he’s written.”

But, Colangelo said, "When it came time to

pay Michael Cohen back for the catch and kill
deal, you’ll see he didn’t negotiate it down. He
doubled it.”

This, Colangelo said, shows "just how

important it was to him to hide the true
nature” of the payments.

9m ago / 5:18 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor says Cohen's testimony will be

backed up with emails, texts, phone logs,
business documents

Rebecca Shabad is in Washington, D.C.

Colangelo told the jury that Cohen's testimony

during the trial will be backed up by emails,
text messages, phone logs and business
documents.

“And it will be backed up by Donald Trump’s

own words on tape, in social media posts, in
his own books, and in videos of his own
speeches," he said.

10m ago / 5:18 PM GMT+2 Share

Colangelo Lnishes
Adam Reiss and Gary Grumbach

Colangelo Inished his opening statement,

speaking for 45 minutes and 30 seconds.

The jury watched, seeming to hold their

attention.

Trump lawyer Blanche is up enxt.

10m ago / 5:18 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor says jurors will learn Cohen 'has

made mistakes in his past'

+2 Jonathan Allen, Adam Reiss and Summer Concepcion

Colangelo said jurors can expect to hear a lot

about Cohen’s backstory as Trump’s Ixer.

“You will learn, and we will be very up front

about it, the fact that Michael Cohen like
other witnesses in this trial, has made
mistakes in his past,” Colangelo said.

11m ago / 5:16 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecution uses the words of Trump

Jonathan Allen

The prosecution is going to great lengths to

echo Trump’s own language in accusing him
of committing crimes to steal an election —
election integrity, fraud and the like.

Toward the conclusion of his statement,

Colangelo called the alleged scheme “an
illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity
of a presidential election” and pointed to “the
steps that Donald Trump took to conceal that
illegal election fraud.”

14m ago / 5:14 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor says it was a 'double lie' how

Trump and his team covered up payments

+2 Adam Reiss, Gary Grumbach and Rebecca Shabad

Colangelo said that the Trump Organization

was not in the business of paying people
twice.

He said the scheme showed how important it

was to hide the payment and the overall
election conspiracy. He said Trump agreed to
pay Cohen back in monthly installments over
2017 with 12 $35,000 payments; and Cohen
would send a bogus invoice to make it seem
like they were for legal services.

“That was a double lie,” Colangelo said.

“There was no retainer agreement.”

“It was instead what they thought was a clever

way to pay Cohen back without being too
obvious about it,” he said.

17m ago / 5:11 PM GMT+2 Share

Analysis of prosecution's opening statement

Laura Jarrett

Listening to the prosecution’s story this

morning, it’s striking to think how diJerently
things might have turned out if federal
prosecutors had charged Trump originally in
connection with a campaign-related violation.
They couldn’t at the time — they charged
Cohen because Trump was president and the
Justice Department has a policy of not
charging a sitting president.

Instead, prosecutors here in New York have

charged him with falsifying business records
after the fact. The hurdle for prosecutors now
is the timeline in their story. How would
“cooking the books” in 2017, as they say, after
nearly all of the damning facts had already
been exposed by tons of reporting, hide
anything from voters?

20m ago / 5:08 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor introduces former Playboy model

Karen McDougal

Corky Siemaszko

Colangelo says a second catch-and-kill scheme

was hatched to cover up Trump's alleged
aJair with former Playboy Playmate Karen
McDougal.

"The defendant desperately did not want this

information about Karen McDougal to become
public because he was concerned about the
election,” Colangelo said of Trump.

23m ago / 5:05 PM GMT+2 Share

Pecker will testify that Trump met with him

after the election to thank him, prosecution
says
Lisa Rubin and Summer Concepcion

Pecker, the former publisher of the National

Enquirer, will testify that Trump met with him
after the election to thank him for dealing
with the stories about women claiming to
have had an aJair with him, Colangelo said.

He then noted that Trump brought Pecker to

the White House the following year to further
show his appreciation.

23m ago / 5:05 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor explains Stormy Daniels situation

to jury

+2 Adam Reiss, Gary Grumbach and Rebecca Shabad

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said that

another woman, adult actress Stormy Daniels,
came forward before the election with an
encounter she said she had with Trump while
he was married.

He said that Cohen learned about the

allegations and discussed it with Trump, who
didn't want the story to come out, saying that
it would be devastating to the campaign.

Colangelo said that Cohen came up with a

deal to buy her story with a nondisclosure
agreement and she agreed not to disclose her
story for $130,000. Trump wanted to delay
payment for as long as possible but ultimately
he agreed to the payoJ.

They eventually agreed that Cohen would

create a shell company to transfer the money
and Cohen conIrmed that Trump would
reimburse him, the prosecutor said.
Colangelo said that on Oct. 27, 2016, Cohen
wired $130,000 to Daniels' lawyers.

23m ago / 5:04 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor says Trump 'cooked the books'

Adam Reiss

Colangelo is trying to make the case about

why the jury should get from hush money
payment to document fraud.

Trump Org. couldn't write a check with

"Reimbursement for porn star payoJ" on the
memo line, Colangelo says.

"So they agreed to cook the books” and make

it look like the repayment was actually
income," he said.

30m ago / 4:58 PM GMT+2 Share

Judge watches prosecution's opening

statement closely

Jonathan Allen

Merchan is watching the prosecution’s

opening statement closely, but his eyes are
going back and forth — pingpong style —
between Colangelo and the jurors. He’s
rocking gently in his chair with his chin
between his thumb and foreInger.

32m ago / 4:56 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor vows to jurors 'you’ll hear

defendant’s own voice on a tape'
Jonathan Allen and Summer Concepcion

Colangelo promised that jurors will hear the

defendant's "own voice on a tape" in the
alleged scheme to silence women who
claimed to have had aJairs with Trump.

33m ago / 4:55 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor is quoting Trump in the 'Access

Hollywood' tape
Adam Reiss and Rebecca Shabad

Colangelo just quoted Trump from the

infamous "Access Hollywood" tape that came
out in October 2016, just weeks before the
election, to the jury.

Colangelo quoted Trump saying that he could

grab women by the "p----."

He said that those were Trump’s words one

month before Election Day and that “the
impact of that video on the campaign was
immediate and explosive." Merchan ruled that
prosecutors can’t play the tape.

38m ago / 4:50 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor explains $30,000 payment to

former Trump Tower doorman

+2 Adam Reiss, Gary Grumbach and Rebecca Shabad

Colangelo explained that Pecker and Cohen

learned about a former Trump Tower
doorman who was trying to sell information
about Trump having a child out of wedlock.

He said Pecker contacted Cohen immediately

and Cohen told Trump who told him to take
care of it. They then negotiated a $30,000
agreement to buy the story, he said.

Colangelo argued that Pecker was not acting

as a publisher, but as a co-conspirator.

42m ago / 4:46 PM GMT+2 Share

Trump lawyers listen intently to

prosecution's opening statement
Katie S. Phang and Summer Concepcion

Trump lawyers Blanche and Susan Necheles

have turned their seats toward Colangelo as
he delivers the prosecution’s opening
statement. While Trump continues to face
forward with hooded eyes, his lawyer Emil
Bove is seen taking notes, looking down in his
lap.

Blanche, who does not appear to be taking

notes, is also watching the jury as Colangelo
continues to deliver his opening statement.

46m ago / 4:41 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor explains alleged roles of Cohen

and Pecker in scheme
Adam Reiss and Rebecca Shabad

Colangelo explained Cohen and Pecker’s

alleged roles in the hush money scheme.

“Cohen’s job really was to take care of

problems for the defendant," he said. “He was
Trump’s Ixer.”

Colangelo said that together, the two

conspired to inguence the outcome of the
2016 election and that Pecker would act as
eyes and ears for Trump. Pecker's job was to
gather information that could be harmful and
report that to Cohen, he said.

47m ago / 4:40 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor says Trump began reimbursing

Cohen after election

Corky Siemaszko

Colangelo, in his opening statement, said

Trump starting paying back Cohen for making
the hush money payments after winning the
White House.

"After the election, the defendant then

reimbursed Cohen for that payment through a
series of monthly checks all of which were
processed through the defendant’s company,
the Trump Organization," he said.

52m ago / 4:35 PM GMT+2 Share

Merchan advises jurors against reading

about or researching the case online or
listening on the radio
Adam Reiss and Summer Concepcion

Merchan urged jurors not to read or listen to

any accounts of the hush money case on the
radio or the internet. He also instructed jurors
to not conduct research on the case at the
library, via Google or any other news source.

Merchan stressed that decisions made by

jurors must be based solely on evidence
presented in the courtroom.

53m ago / 4:35 PM GMT+2 Share

Prosecutor says 'this case is about criminal

conspiracy'
Gary Grumbach and Rebecca Shabad

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo says in his

opening statement, “This case is about
criminal conspiracy.”

Laying out the prosecution's case in the

courtroom for the Irst time, he described a
conspiracy between Trump and Cohen.

He argued that Trump tried to corrupt the

2016 election.

“Then, he covered up that criminal

conspiracy by lying in his New York business
records over and over and over again,"
Colangelo said.

59m ago / 4:28 PM GMT+2 Share

Opening statements are beginning

Jonathan Allen

The opening statements are beginning.

1h ago / 4:14 PM GMT+2 Share

Trump's eyes are shut

Adam Reiss and Rebecca Shabad

Trump's eyes are shut and across the aisle,

Bragg is catching a glimpse of the former
president from his seat in the front row of the
gallery.

1h ago / 4:05 PM GMT+2 Share

Merchan reads out jury instructions

Adam Reiss and Summer Concepcion

Merchan read the jury instructions aloud and

explained the stages of the trial.

He reminded jurors of the basic principles of

the law and said that, at the conclusion of the
case, he will remind them that the law applies
to the crime and that prosecutors must prove
beyond a reasonable doubt.

Merchan also explained the role of a court

reporter, before going on to tell jurors, “What
I say is not evidence.”

“You must decide this case on the evidence,”

he said.

“What the lawyers say at any time is not

evidence,” the judge added.

1h ago / 4:01 PM GMT+2 Share

Merchan says there are six prior court

decisions that are admissible on cross-
examination for Trump
Gary Grumbach and Rebecca Shabad

Merchan said that if Trump takes the stand,

prosecutors can bring up six determinations
in four separate proceedings:

SHOW MORE

2h ago / 3:57 PM GMT+2 Share

Jury being sat

Adam Reiss

The jury is being brought into the room and

seated, for the Irst time, as a group.

2h ago / 3:46 PM GMT+2 Share

No Trump family members appear to be in

the courtroom

Katie S. Phang

It does not appear that there are any of

Trump’s family members present in the
courtroom this morning.

2h ago / 3:45 PM GMT+2 Share

Bragg has entered the courtroom

Rebecca Shabad and Lisa Rubin

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is in the

courtroom.

2h ago / 3:43 PM GMT+2 Share

Juror 9 was concerned about media

attention but will remain on jury

Rebecca Shabad is in Washington, D.C.

Merchan said that the court received a call

from juror 9 who expressed concern about
media attention. After a meeting with the
juror and lawyers for both sides, the judge
announced, however, that the juror will
remain on the jury.

2h ago / 3:41 PM GMT+2 Share

Merchan says court will conclude at 12:30

p.m. today
Jonathan Allen and Summer Concepcion

Merchan said alternate juror 6 would be able

to make an emergency dentist appointment at
3 p.m. for a toothache. But the appointment
was moved up to 1:20 p.m., prompting the
judge to tell her that the court would
conclude at 12:30 p.m. today.

2h ago / 3:38 PM GMT+2 Share

Lawyers estimate length of opening

statements