Who’s Who in Donald Trump’s Hush-Money Trial

Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan is resurfacing years-old allegations of what prosecutors have said was a criminal conspiracy intended to suppress negative stories about the then-presidential candidate before the 2016 election.

Here are some of the key players at trial:

Donald Trump

The first former president to face a criminal trial, Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the alleged coverup of a payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels. The judge is requiring Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, to attend court throughout the six-week trial. He faces charges in three other criminal cases. Trump says all the charges are politically driven and denies wrongdoing.

Stormy Daniels

An adult-film actress and director, Stormy Daniels was paid $130,000 in 2016 by Trump’s then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter she had with Trump a decade earlier. Prosecutors allege the payment was made in coordination with Trump ahead of the presidential election, at a critical time in his campaign when he was being heavily scrutinized over his treatment of women. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is a possible witness at the Manhattan trial. Trump denies the affair.

Michael Cohen

Trump’s former personal lawyer Cohen is expected to be a star witness at trial because of his key role in the Daniels payment. Prosecutors allege that Trump and the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen in a series of payments illegally disguised as legal services. Trump said Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges, is a liar and a rat.

Alvin Bragg

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office brought the hush-money case against Trump. Bragg, who previously worked in the New York attorney general’s office and the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, campaigned on his law-enforcement career and having overseen a state civil case against Trump’s now defunct charity. As district attorney, Bragg inherited Trump investigations started by his predecessor, and he ultimately pursued an indictment on the hush-money allegations.

David Pecker

Tabloid king David Pecker is the former chief executive of American Media, the publisher of the National Enquirer. Prosecutors called him as a trial witness to testify about an alleged “catch and kill” scheme where he bought damaging stories about Trump in order to keep them from becoming public. Pecker bought former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal’s story of an affair in August 2016. He declined to buy Daniels’s story when the opportunity arose two months later, leaving Cohen to handle the deal.

Justice Juan Merchan

New York’s Justice Juan Merchan is overseeing Trump’s hush-money trial. He previously presided over a criminal case against the Trump Organization, which ended with the company being convicted of tax fraud. Trump has unsuccessfully sought to have Merchan removed from his case over an alleged conflict, claiming the judge’s daughter, who works for a Democratic ad agency, stands to benefit if he is convicted.

Karen McDougal

Former Playboy playmate McDougal sold her story of a 10-month extramarital affair with Trump to American Media for $150,000 in 2016. Trump has denied the affair. While the false-record charges don’t relate to the McDougal, prosecutors are expected to present evidence of the payment in order to show Trump sought to carry out a larger scheme to influence the 2016 election. McDougal may testify at trial.

This story may be updated periodically.