Potential jurors called into courtroom for start of Trumps historic hush money trial [Video]

NEW YORK (AP) — The historic hush-money trial of Donald Trump got underway Monday as dozens of prospective jurors packed into a courtroom where the former president will answer to charges that he falsified business records in order to stifle stories about his sex life.

The first criminal trial of any former U.S. president will unfold as Trump vies to reclaim the White House, creating a remarkable split-screen spectacle of the presumptive Republican nominee spending his days as a criminal defendant while simultaneously campaigning for office. He’s blended those roles over the last year by presenting himself to supporters, on the campaign trail and on social media, as a target of politically motivated prosecutions designed to derail his candidacy.

After a norm-shattering presidency shadowed by years of investigations, the trial amounts to a courtroom reckoning for Trump, who faces four indictments charging him with crimes ranging from hoarding classified documents to plotting to overturn an election. Yet …