Trump’s hush-money trial: key takeaways from opening statements

The ex-president appeared uncomfortable at times as his criminal trial finally got under way in New York on Monday

• Full story: hush money was election fraud pure and simple', prosecutors say

Donald Trump was confronted on Monday with the unsavory details of his alleged attempt to illegally influence the 2016 election by covering up his hush-money payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, as the first criminal trial for a former US president got under way in New York.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records - where the hush-money payments were recorded as legal expenses - to cover up the affair just weeks before the election.