唐纳德·特朗普犯罪的第五天封口费审判也是陪审团进行法律辩论的第一天。
周一的诉讼持续了三个多小时，但双方都发表了开场陈述，揭开了他们计划在未来几周提出的论点的面纱。
这位前总统因伪造商业记录以隐瞒一笔封口费付款他当时的律师迈克尔·科恩为了在2016年总统大选中提升自己的竞选前景，与成人电影女演员斯托米·丹尼尔斯做了一对。
检察官周一将此案定性为“纯粹的选举欺诈”，并恳求陪审员在消化证据时运用常识。辩护律师试图让特朗普与任何涉嫌的不法行为保持距离，并为削弱包括科恩和丹尼尔斯在内的关键政府证人奠定了基础。
休庭前，检察官传唤了他们的第一位证人:《国家询问者》的前出版商大卫·派克(David Pecker)，检察官指控他与特朗普和科恩合谋，通过扼杀有关特朗普的负面报道来影响选举。
派克将于周二上午再次出庭作证，此前该案的法官听取了关于特朗普涉嫌违反法庭裁决的辩论有限禁言令.
以下是周一的四大外卖。
检察官指控选举舞弊
检察官提交了他们计划向陪审员提交的案件的详细概述，他们将其描述为“腐败2016年总统选举的犯罪计划”。
检察官马修·科朗吉洛描述了他所说的三管齐下的计划，以在小报媒体上宣传特朗普，报道有关他的对手的负面报道，并合谋捕捉和扼杀有关特朗普的负面报道。
检方表示，臭名昭著的《《走进好莱坞》》录音带的发布对竞选产生了“爆炸性”影响。在录音带中，特朗普吹嘘自己曾绑架女性。检方称，特朗普试图压制斯托米·丹尼尔斯和凯伦·麦克道戈等潜在的谴责声音是“纯粹的选举欺诈”
辩方称“这些都不是犯罪”
唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)的首席律师托德·布兰奇(Todd Blanche)辩称，检方描述的所谓行为只不过是一如既往的政治。
“我有一个剧透警报，”布兰奇在开庭陈述中告诉陪审员。“试图影响选举没有错。这叫民主。”
“签订保密协议并不违法，”他继续说道。“句号。“
布兰奇不顾检察官的反对，一再辩称特朗普没有做错任何事。他认为，虽然特朗普集团为迈克尔·科恩的服务支付报酬，但特朗普“在管理国家期间忙于白宫事务”
科恩的信誉得到了解决
两党在开场声明中都提到了一个主题:迈克尔·科恩的可靠性。
陪审团如何看待科恩的证词可能会决定这次审判的结果-这一现实在周一检察官和辩护律师的开庭陈述中得到了反映。
“在这次审判中，你会听到很多关于迈克尔·科恩的事情，”科朗吉洛说，这可能是当天最轻描淡写的一句话。
检察官承认科恩有“包袱”，包括宣誓后撒谎。但他们鼓励陪审员将科恩的指控与他们将听到的其他证据和证词联系起来。
布兰奇认为陪审团不能“仅凭迈克尔·科恩的话”就给川普定罪
“他有一个目标，一种痴迷，那就是得到特朗普。我认为他不可信，”布兰奇说。
派克就“支票簿新闻业”作证
微笑的大卫·派克作为政府的第一位证人出庭作证，证明他在据称由特朗普授意策划的封口费计划中的角色。
被特朗普称为“密友”的长期小报编辑皮克将《国家询问报》的编辑过程描述为“支票簿新闻”。
“我对杂志的名人方面有最终发言权，”派克说。“我们使用支票簿新闻。我们花钱买了故事。”
佩克正在根据传票作证，并获得了一份不起诉协议，他将于周二重返法庭。
Top 4 takeaways from Day 5 of Trump's hush money trial
Day 5 of Donald Trump's criminalhush money trialwas also the first day of legal arguments before jurors.
Proceedings lasted little more than three hours on Monday, but both parties delivered opening statements, lifting the veil on arguments they plan to present over the coming weeks.
The former president is on trial in New York on felony charges of falsifying business records to hide the reimbursement of ahush money paymenthis then-attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors on Monday framed the case as "election fraud, pure and simple" and implored jurors to exercise common sense as they digest the evidence. Defense attorneys sought to distance Trump from any alleged wrongdoing and laid the groundwork to undermine key government witnesses, including Cohen and Daniels.
Before court adjourned, prosecutors called their first witness: David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, who prosecutors allege engaged in a conspiracy with Trump and Cohen to help influence the election by killing negative stories about Trump.
Pecker is due to return to the stand Tuesday morning, after the judge in the case hears arguments about Trump's alleged violation of a court-imposedlimited gag order.
Here are Monday's top four takeaways.
Prosecutors allege election fraud
Prosecutors presented a detailed overview of the case they plan to present to jurors, which they described as a "criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election."
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo described what he called a three-pronged scheme to promote Trump in the tabloid media, run negative stories about his opponents, and conspire to catch and kill negative stories about Trump.
Prosecutors said the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape, in which Trump bragged of grabbing women, had an "explosive" effect on the campaign, and called the campaign's efforts to quell potentially damning voices -- like Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal -- "election fraud, pure and simple."
Defense says 'none of this was a crime'
Todd Blanche, the lead attorney for Donald Trump, argued that the alleged conduct described by prosecutors was nothing more than politics as usual.
"I have a spoiler alert," Blanche told jurors during his opening statement. "There is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It's called democracy."
"There is nothing illegal about entering into a nondisclosure agreement," he continued. "Period."
Blanche, over objections from prosecutors, argued repeatedly that Trump had done nothing wrong. He argued that, while the Trump Organization was paying Michael Cohen for his services, Trump was busy "in the White House while he was running the country."
Cohen's credibility is addressed
One major theme emerged in both parties' opening statements: the reliability of Michael Cohen.
How the jury perceives Cohen's testimony could dictate the outcome of this trial -- a reality that was reflected Monday in opening statements from both prosecutors and defense counsel.
"During this trial you're going to hear a lot about Michael Cohen," Colangelo said, in what was perhaps the biggest understatement of the day.
MORE: Who are the 12 jurors in Trump's historic criminal trial
Prosecutors acknowledged that Cohen comes with "baggage" that includes lying under oath. But they encouraged jurors to put Cohen's allegations in the context of other evidence and testimony they will hear.
Blanche argued that the jury cannot convict Trump "by relying on the words of Michael Cohen."
"He has a goal, an obsession, with getting Trump. I submit to you he cannot be trusted," Blanche said.
Pecker testifies about 'checkbook journalism'
A smiling David Pecker took the stand as the government's first witness, to testify about his role in the alleged hush payment scheme supposedly orchestrated at Trump's behest.
Pecker, a longtime tabloid editor whom Trump has called a "close friend," described the editorial process at the National Enquirer as "checkbook journalism."
"I had the final say of the celebrity side of the magazine," Pecker said. "We used checkbook journalism. We paid for stories."
Pecker, who is testifying under subpoena and secured a non-prosecution agreement, will return to the stand on Tuesday.
