“With pressure mounting and Election Day fast approaching, Donald Trump agreed to the payoff and directed Cohen to proceed,” the prosecutor said, leading Trump’s then-fixer to take out a loan to wire Daniels $130,000.

The Daniels payoff came after AMI had handed a $150,000 payment to McDougal, who alleged she had a heated 10-month affair with Trump shortly after he wed Melania, and $30,000 in hush money to a former Trump Tower doorman who wanted to sell a later-debunked story about Trump fathering a child out of wedlock.

Trump’s fixer agreed to pay Daniels, the prosecutor said, when an “antsy” Pecker voiced concern that he still hadn’t been paid back. The former CEO ultimately backed away from the deal and agreed to “eat” the debt, Colangelo said.

The 34 felonies Trump has pleaded not guilty to are tied to the alleged compensation to Cohen and related fees, totaling 11 checks for $420,000, 11 invoices and 12 ledger entries falsely logged as payment for “legal” services. Colangelo said Trump’s since-convicted former finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, helped disguise the checks and that Trump’s actions went beyond “spin or strategy.”

“It was election fraud, pure and simple,” the prosecutor said.

In his opener, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche flipped the script, countering that the state’s star witness, Cohen, was “obsessed” with Trump and a liar whose success hinged on Trump’s “destruction.” The attorney said the central scheme involved no illegality.

“Spoiler alert: There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence the election. It’s called democracy,” Blanche said. “President Trump did not commit any crimes.”

He sought to humanize his client, saying he wasn’t just the former POTUS and a TV personality.

“He’s also a man, he’s a husband, he’s a father. And he’s a person, just like you and me,” Blanche said of his client, whose family hasn’t attended one day of the trial. He later said there was nothing criminal about the nondisclosure agreements that Trump entered into to protect his family and reputation.

Prosecutors called Pecker, who flashed a big grin before laying out his responsibilities as a supermarket tabloid publisher from 1999 to 2020, as their first witness. Trump switched his gaze from looking ahead and turned to face his former ally when he took the stand, jotting down notes.

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