Prosecutors open Trump trial with tales of political dirt, money, collusion with National Enquirer

Prosecutors began building their case Monday against former President Donald Trump in the first criminal trial against an ex-president, telling jurors he committed tax and election crimes to hush up bad press ahead of the 2016 election.

Mr. Trump and tabloid allies used “catch-and-kill” tactics to stiff-arm bad press before the 2016 election and then lied about it on business records “over and over and over again,” they told the jurors.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team put former National Enquirer executive David Pecker on the witness stand and plan to grill him again Tuesday about an August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower that laid the groundwork for an alleged scheme to suppress bad press around Mr. Trump before the 2016 election.