Trump's N.Y. hush money trial begins. Here's what you missed the first day.

Donald Trump — now a former president on trial — has sought to turn his legal peril into a boost for his presidential campaign, animating his supporters and attempting to sow doubt about the motives of his opponents.

But facing 34 counts of felony charges, Trump argued on the historic first day of his New York hush money trial that he is the victim of a criminal justice system weaponized against him.

He called it “an assault” on the nation. And as the presumptive Republican nominee for president, repeatedly attacked the prosecution for waging "election interference."

It is “why I’m very proud to be here,” Trump said.

The former president intends to be involved at every level, to the extent possible, from court conferences to the jury selection process, his defense attorney Todd Blanche said.

“President Trump wants to be present at everything,” said Blanche.

For much of the day, Trump was seated at the defense table flanked by his attorneys. At times, his voice could be heard in the back of the courtroom, though not what he was saying. Other moments saw Trump shut his eyes — drawing speculation about whether he was still awake, or lost in thought.

Here is what happened during Monday's proceedings:

Jury selection

About 500 New Yorkers arrived for day one of Trump’s criminal trial over hush money payments for a process that will take days — and could take weeks — as the court works to weed out jurors who could be swayed by strong biases, or stealth jurors, who may be hiding theirs.

Questions like, “Are you, or have you ever been a member of groups like the Oath Keepers, or ‘3 percenters,’” another far-right group, are used to narrow the pool. Other questions, say about a prospective juror’s hobbies or educational