Trump's criminal trial, a first for a former president, has begun in New York

NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump has arrived at Manhattan's criminal court for the first day of his New York criminal trial.

This is the first time in U.S. history a former president will be tried on criminal charges.

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.

Monday kicks off an 18-person jury selection for the hush-money trial that is expected to last about six weeks — even as Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, campaigns to be president once again.

Arriving to the courtroom Monday, Trump reiterated his complaint that the case is political persecution. "This is a persecution like never before," he told reporters. "It's an assault on America and that's why I am very proud to be here, this is an assault on our country."

The trial begins after a 20-day delay was granted by New York Judge Juan Merchan to give both legal teams time to review 31,000 records provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office. In recent weeks, Merchan also issued a gag order on Trump that specifically bars him from making, or directing others to make, public statements about witnesses, prosecutors or jurors. He later extended the order to cover families of those people after Trump went after the judge's daughter by name on the former president's social media site.

The trial comes just months before the presidential election in November. Most polls show Trump in a tight race with President Biden, his successor to the presidency. Trump must balance his legal troubles — he faces dozens of state and federal charges — with the election cycle, though his predicament hasn't dampened enthusiasm for him among his most ardent