First day of Trump's hush money trial kicks off with opening statements and a witness

Just before 10 a.m. Monday, a jury of 18 every-day New Yorkers filed into the Manhattan courtroom where former President Donald Trump sat at the defense table.

"Members of the jury, we are about to proceed with the outset of the trial of Donald J. Trump," pronounced Judge Juan Merchan.

As Merchan began instructing the jury on their critical role over the next few weeks, Trump, the defendant, sat flanked by his legal team, occasionally looking down and slightly shifting in his chair.

Trump faces 34 felony counts alleging that he falsified New York business records in order to conceal damaging information to influence the 2016 presidential election. Trump claims the trial itself is "election interference" because of how it is disrupting his 2024 bid for president. He has pleaded not guilty and instead argues that all he did was pay his lawyer.

Merchan told the jurors that the burden of proof will be on the prosecutors, who must prove that Trump is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Last week, 12 jurors and six alternates were selected to decide the fate of the former president. The trial has begun about a year after a grand jury originally delivered the indictment that set up this trial as the first against a sitting or former U.S. president.

Jurors also began to hear from the first witness: David Pecker, former CEO of American Media the publishing company of the National Enquirer magazine.

Pecker, who was on the stand for less than a half hour before the first day wrapped at around lunchtime, testified to the editorial structure of his magazine and about the level of oversight he had on the stories. He also confirmed his phone numbers, which the prosecution suggested could be relevant later on.

Testimony should