Opening statements underway in Trump ‘hush money’ case

Opening statements in Donald Trump‘s hush money trial are set to begin in a New York court on Monday. For the first time in history, prosecutors will present a criminal case against a former American president to a jury, accusing Trump of a scheme to prevent damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public.

Colangelo, senior counsel to the district attorney, told jurors that though the payments to Michael Cohen, then Trump’s personal lawyer, were labeled as legal fees pursuant to a retainer agreement, there was no retainer and there were no legal services.