Trump trial set for opening statements and first witness testimony: Live updates

• The New York criminal hush money trial of Donald Trump is set to begin opening statements and hear testimony from the first witness.
• Former American Media CEO David Pecker is expected to be the first person prosecutors call to testify in the Manhattan Supreme Court case.
• The opening statements and witness testimony will be heard by a jury of 12 members and six alternates, who were seated last week.

This is developing news. Check back for updates.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the New York hush money trial of Donald Trump are set Monday to deliver opening statements and start calling witnesses to testify.

The prosecution is expected to call David Pecker, the former CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media, as its first witness, a source with direct knowledge told NBC News.

Pecker was deeply involved in alleged efforts ahead of the 2016 presidential election to "catch and kill" negative information about Trump, the Republican nominee in that contest.

Pecker allegedly warned Trump's then-attorney Michael Cohen in late 2016 about porn star Stormy Daniels' claim that she had sex with Trump years earlier while he was married. Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels less than two weeks before the election, which Trump went on to win.

American Media earlier in 2016 also allegedly paid $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also says she had an extramarital affair with Trump.

Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in order to conceal his reimbursement to Cohen for paying off Daniels. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accuses Trump of doing so to influence the 2016 election.

Trump in a post Monday morning on Truth Social defended those payments to Cohen as he railed against the DA.

Bragg