Former US president Donald Trump faces historic criminal trial

Former President Donald Trump has fronted the start of his criminal trial, where he’s accused of covering up hush money payments. Nine US Correspondent Alison Petrowski is in New York. For us, Allie, it’s an historic moment for American politics. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Good morning to you, Brooke. And hundreds of New Yorkers showed up for jury duty today, wondering if they would end up being a part of history. Donald Trump is in the courtroom behind me. He’s required to be there every single day of that trial, Brooke. And as we go to air, we have seen the first round of 96 potential jurors come into the room. 50 of them have already been immediately dismissed, Brooke, because they said they cannot be fair or impartial in this case. So for those that are left in that first round, Judge Juan Mashani is now currently leading them through a very detailed questionnaire. Brooke 7 pages long, 42 questions, asking them a range of questions from things like where do you live in New York? What kind of job do you do? And then it gets to pointier questions, like what news outlets do you watch, read and listen? And also, have you ever been to a pro trump or anti Trump rally? Have you ever supported groups like Q Anon, the Proud Boys or Antifa? So that is what is unfolding in the courtroom. Let’s see what Donald Trump had to say when he arrived to court this morning. This is political persecution. This is a persecution like never before. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. And again, it’s a case that should have never been brought. It’s an assault, America. As you mentioned, Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records. At the heart of the scheme is a catch. At the heart of the the case, rather is a catch and kill scheme and that is that the publication, the National Enquirer allegedly bought stories and on behalf of Donald Trump and essentially brought their silence. Brooke. And the reason why I mentioned that is because when that alleged scheme was taking place an Australian was the editor in Chief at the time. His name is Dylan Howard Brooke and it is highly likely that we may see him as a witness in this case. OK. Thanks, Ali.