Trump shakes his head as prosecutors say he ‘orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 election’ and details the ‘catch and kill’ plot in blockbuster opening statement in the hush money trial

Donald Trump orchestrated a criminal plot to “corrupt” the 2016 presidential election and then tried to cover it up, prosecutors alleged at the start of his successful hush money trial in New York.

Trump shook his head as he was accused of lying “over and over again” to cover up the alleged plan to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told a packed Manhattan courtroom: “This case is about a criminal conspiracy and a cover-up. Defendant Donald Trump orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.

“He then covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying to his New York business records over and over again.”

It came after Judge Juan Merchan spent 30 minutes instructing the jury.

He told them, “Members of the jury, we are about to proceed with the trial of the people of the State of New York against Donald J Trump.”

Trump is the first former American president ever to appear as a suspect in a criminal trial.

He has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying company records, which carries a prison sentence of up to four years.

The charges relate to a hush-money scheme aimed at preventing damaging stories about his personal life, including an alleged affair with Daniels, from becoming public before the 2016 election.

The case will be heard by a jury consisting of five women and seven men. It includes two corporate lawyers, a security engineer, an investment banker and a speech therapist.

Trump walked in at the head of his defense team, shoulders slightly hunched. He took a seat at the front of the court, facing a six-foot wood-paneled wall inscribed with “In God We Trust.”

The former president, wearing a navy blue suit and light blue tie, sat at the defense table with his attorney Todd Blanche, briefly shaking his head and laughing to himself.

The courtroom on the 15th floor of the Manhattan Criminal Court was packed with journalists and citizens.

Behind the defendant, six rows of journalists sat on hard wooden benches. The court has a worn tile floor and has been adapted for the trial with four large video screens.

The aides who accompanied Trump in the courtroom included Natalie Harp, Karoline Leavitt and Jason Miller.

Before the jury was arraigned, Judge Merchan ruled that prosecutors could question him about a $364 million fine he was recently imposed in a separate civil corporate fraud case.

That led to Trump shaking his head in apparent frustration.

The opening statements are expected to give jurors and the voting public the clearest picture yet of the allegations at the heart of the case.

Lawyers will also introduce a colorful cast of characters expected to testify about the saga.

They include Daniels, former playboy model Karen McDougal, and key witness Michael Cohen, Trump’s former ‘fxer’.

The first witness is expected to be David Pecker, the former CEO of tabloid publisher American Media.

Trump arrived at the courthouse shortly before 9 a.m. after denouncing the case in all caps on social media.

He called it “election interference” and a “witch hunt.”

A conviction would not prevent Trump from becoming president again.

However, because it is a matter of state, he would not be able to attempt to pardon himself if found guilty.

Before the trial, he will have to spend weeks in court instead of going on campaign.

Shortly before arriving at the court, he wrote on Truth Social that he was “stuck” in the process.

He will be forced to listen as witnesses recount salacious and possibly unflattering details about his private life.

Trump has tried to turn his status as a criminal suspect into an asset for his campaign.

He has used it to raise money and rail against a justice system he claims has been weaponized against him.

The case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.