00:00 The former president leaves his New York residence for another day in court.
00:10 In opening arguments, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors, "This case is about a criminal
00:16 conspiracy and a cover-up."
00:19 He referred to a 2015 meeting involving Donald Trump, his fixer Michael Cohen, and a tabloid
00:26 newspaper executive David Pecker as a "Trump Tower" conspiracy, in which the men agreed
00:32 to buy and bury stories that could damage Trump's election chances.
00:39 One of those stories was an allegation by adult film star Stormy Daniels that she had
00:44 a sexual encounter with the defendant.
00:47 "It was election fraud, pure and simple," the prosecution said.
00:52 Donald Trump's lawyer told the court his client was "cloaked in innocence."
00:58 He attacked the credibility of the prosecution's key witness, Michael Cohen, and argued paying
01:03 hush money was not a crime.
01:06 I have a spoiler alert.
01:07 There's nothing wrong with trying to influence the election.
01:11 It's called democracy.
01:13 The former president sat through it all, using breaks to complain that this case was interfering
01:19 with the 2024 election.
01:20 I should be in Georgia now.
01:24 I should be in Florida now.
01:25 I should be in a lot of different places right now campaigning, and I'm sitting here.
01:29 The former publisher David Pecker, who the prosecution says helped to suppress unflattering
01:34 stories about Trump, also appeared briefly as their first witness.
01:39 I think it went very well.
01:41 As he left the courtroom, David Pecker smiled and appeared to nod in Donald Trump's direction.
01:46 But the former president just stared straight ahead.
01:50 Mr. Pecker, a one-time ally and admirer of Donald Trump, is due to continue his testimony
01:56 against him when court resumes tomorrow.
01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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