Hunter told cnn edwards did not want the truth to hurt his wife. The issues for internal family and. She was trying to hide it from elizabeth try not to hurt anybody. He didnt want to hurt elizabeth. Or his Family A Key Difference could be the timing of the alleged affairs and subsequent payoffs, which might help spell out the Payments Intent Edwards affair occurred during the 2008 campaign with at least one payment happening after the election was over, long after edwards dropped out of the race in trumps case, the alleged affair happened in 2006, years before he ran for president the payoff is alleged to have been made just two weeks before the 2016 election persecution. And this is about me, but perhaps the starkest difference is how each man reacted to their cases there is no one else responsible for my sans none of the people who came to court and testified are responsible. Nobody working for the government is responsible. I am responsible. This is really an attack on a political opponent thats all it is. Jessica dean, cnn, washington thanks for joining us. The news continues here on cnn Breaking News tonight, The Trump Trial Testimony begin any official transcript was just released for the next hour. Well take you inside the courtroom from gavel to gavel. As this historic hush money criminal case unfolds, the prosecutions first key witness takes the stand. After both sides start to lay out their cases in Opening Statements our reporters and experts are standing by to break down all of todays most important developments and look ahead to whats next welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world im wolf blitzer with a Special Report in the Situation Room Trump Trial today lets get right to the Breaking News on the Opening Statements and testimony in this the First Criminal Trial of a former president of the United States, donald trump at the Defense Table as prosecutors. And his lawyers began cutting to the heart of the hush money case against him. Cnns Kara Scannell is joining us live from new york, where she was inside the courtroom today kara, we now have the First OfficialCourt Transcript well, if there are no cameras in the courtroom, but they are Public Interest in this case is insatiable. So the treat chief administrative judge here took an extraordinary step, and so they would make the transcript public every day. So anyone can look word for word to see what is happening inside the courtroom behind me, this on the day when prosecutors laid out the evidence, they hope to prove in this case and trumps lawyers said what his defense would be saying that he was not guilty of these crimes as Opening Statements got underway Opening Statements and the first witness, a former Tabloid Executive front and Center Monday as the First Criminal Trial of donald trump officially got underway i think it went very well. Prosecutor said the case boils down to a conspiracy and cover up that trump orchestrated the scheme to corrupt the 2016 president ial election and covered it up by lying in his Business Records. Assistant district attorney, matthew colangelos saying it was election fraud, pure and simple. Trump attorney todd blanche argued the former president is innocent. The payments made were legal. Blanche also claimed there is nothing wrong with trying to to influence an election in his remarks, colangelos a lead prosecutor on the case, said the alleged crimes began at an august 2015 meeting between trump cohen and x National Enquirer publisher david the first witness to testify in the trial on monday colangelos said the three formed a conspiracy at that meeting to influence since the president ial election by concealing negative information about mr. Trump in order to help him get elected. The prosecution said agreed to help by damaging information on trump to make it go away, a move known as catch and kill at the center of the case, a 130,000 payment to Adult Film Star stormy day. Daniels just weeks before election day in 2016, the prosecution said a sexual infidelity, especially with a porn star on the heels of the access Hollywood Tape would have been devastating to his campaign. So at trumps direction, cohen negotiated the deal to buy daniel story to prevent it from becoming public before the election . Trump has denied having an affair with daniels prosecutor said trump did not want to write the check himself. So cohen put up the money, colangelos argued trump, cohen and former Trump Organization cfo Allen Weisselberg agreed cohen would be paid back in monthly installments through fake invoices to the Trump Organization. Prosecutors peter said key witnesses like cohen have made mistakes in the past. And encourage the jury to keep an open mind and carefully evaluate all of the evidence that corroborates Michael Cohens testimony, then it was trumps attorneys turned blanche said the das office should never have brought this case he said the prosecution story is not true and the jury will find plenty of reasonable doubt. He pivoted to paint trump as a husband and father, saying hes a person just like you and just like me, trumps team suggested the Payments Trump made to cohen. Were not a payback for funds paid to Stormy Daniels, but instead payments do as personal attorney trump defended himself against these charges after court on monday and invoice. So whatever, a bill. And they didnt call it a legal expense. I got indicted for that land shifted blame to cohen saying the reality is mr. Trump is not on the hook, is not criminally responsible for something mr. Cohen may have done years after the fact. Blanche said the prosecutions outline of a supposed catching killed deal with was not a scheme, but completely irrelevant and not illegal in the afternoon as briefly took the stand, he did not look at trump, but trump look directly at him as he testified david was on the stand for about 20 minutes to de he was explaining to the jury how the National Enquirer operate, saying that they did pay for certain stories he testified on the celebrity sayyed of the magazine industry, at least on the tabloid side, we use Checkbook Journalism and we paid for stories. He also said that any story that required a payment of more than 10,000 required his approval and he testified that need to email addresses at ami one than it used for general businesses. That is assistant often looked at and one that he kept confidentially. Now, before left the room, he walked past Donald Trumps table, said hello to the table. It wasnt clear if donald trump had responded. We couldnt get a good Vantage Point of that. The will be back on the stance tomorrow. Will he will get into what the prosecutor sees the core of this testimony, these catch and kill deals, and the conspiracy they say was hatched at trump tower in 2015. Wolf, are Kara Scannell outside the courthouse in new york. Thank you very much. I want to dig deeper right now into the legal strategy on both sides. Cnn legal analyst Elie Williams is with me here at the magic while elliott walk us through what you think are the key points in the prosecutions opening arguments absolutely wolf and everything in criminal prosecution starts with the law. Prosecutors have to establish elements of an offense and we flag the important one points here today, false so fine. Business records, thats the crime with an intent to defraud, but heres the thing. And most important in this case is for the purpose of committing another crime or aiding or concealing, covering up a crime. And you heard the prosecutors today literally call it a conspiracy a cover up. So thats what were talking about here. This aid or conceal now this qarrah talk about this august 2015 meeting, and this is critical for prosecutors efforts to establish an intent to defraud on the part of the defendant what theyre saying, donald trump, what theyre saying is that these three people got together at this august 2015 meeting and didnt just agree to Falsify Records, but agreed to Falsify Records for the purpose of helping the former president s campaign. Chances that crime is the coverup of the campaign in 2016. Now, you also have to establish the records are falsified and remember the jurors know none of this. You and i might many viewers might, but jurors dont so they, have to establish how Business Records were kept within the Trump Organization. And you have these three employees, jeff mcconney, rona graph, and deborah tarasoff, who can actually testify as to what happened within the Trump Organization, how they falsified records or allegedly falsified records, put them together. And what they did. Now, what was the purpose of all . Well, this and kara touched on this a little bit. We all remember 2016 swirling around the Trump Campaign were questions perhaps about this personal misconduct. They might have, and this is the allegation on the part of the prosecutors it collaborated to benefit the Presence Campaign by essentially shushing these and these personal intimate relationships. What were some of the key points in trumps Defense TeamsOpening Statement that stand out to you, its important that we call them Opening Statements, not arguments. Theyre just saying what they think the evidence is going to be and they went hard after Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels on credibility Witness Credibility think number one, Michael Cohen with he has criminal convictions and his record, Stormy Daniels might have had a reason for moving forward with this. She came forward with the story and finally, wolf really important here too big points made by the defense using the term President Trump is innocent. Thats not something that prosecutors have to establish. This idea of innocence versus not guilty. They said hes innocent. They swing for the fences here, and most importantly, they are attacking the very heart of the charge here by saying that theres nothing wrong with attempting to influence an election. Its called democracy. Now look a core part of the case is this, this allegation that trumps should not have been invalid . Lets anything election. The defense went right after that here, attack trump on it. Youre going to hear more about this over the course of this trial. Very important, very interesting elliott standby as we bring in more legal and political experts into our conversation. And andrew mccabe, the defense says, they will find in their was plenty of reasonable doubt how to prosecutors overcome that . Well, its really interesting wolf, the prosecution and the defense have two very different jobs the prosecution has to essentially build a house and they do it the way they they start with that, the way they did today, they put the foundation down with their Opening Statement in the first witness, and then they start to bring in more ways witnesses, they enter evidence to prove every element of the crime. The defense simply has to tear that house down. They do that by insinuating doubt. They do that by attacking witnesses. They do that by attacking the evidence and so they have much less of a coherent, broad theory its just more one shot after another, one shot after another. And you will see the main witnesses take those shots very directly. Yeah, its interesting. David chalian, europe, political director, prosecutors are framing this as a 2016 Election Interference case, potentially that could be illegal phrase trump, very regularly spins it sitting outside the Court Earlier today, after the session, listen to this this is done as Election Interference. Everybody knows it im here instead of being able to be invincible anion and georgia lots of other places campaigning. Is very unfair. David, what do you make of that . Well, this is an argument were hearing from him on a daily basis now, and its not an argument thats going to be in court. This is not the difference between inside the courtroom and what jurors can actually use to adjudicate his guilt or innocence in this case, whether hes guilty or not guilty versus what happens outside the courtroom when hes free to make a political grievance argument as hes doing here. But it has nothing to do with what the case will be decided on. That is an argument. Hes making a political case to the American People rather than actually trying to improve his standing as a defendant in the case. And i think the distinction is key to understand because this is part of why the jurors are instructed not to consume media around this case, not to be on social media. Its exactly because this will happen in that space and it shouldnt go into their calculations. Will the American People buy that donald trump is being sidelined in this campaign in some way by joe biden, who has absolutely nothing to do with this manhattan das case. Well see i mean, the American People have bought other untruths of Donald Trumps so well see if they, by this one. But this is its something were going to hear on a daily basis. I suspect youre right that Gloria Borger is with us as well because you dont gloria trumps attorney, todd blanche, said this today and im quoting him. Theres nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It is called democracy. Its a pretty stunning argument. Well, it is a stunning argument and one mans democracy is another persons conspiracy and thats, thats what we were hearing in the court today. He said what donald trump did was perfectly legal and normal than he was effectively just paying his attorney for services rendered, period. And youre allowed to do that. And if a candidate youre allowed to try and get people to vote for you. Thats thats what elections are about. Now the other side is saying, wait a minute, no, no, no, this was a conspiracy he was trying to hide the paperwork and that they were trying to dupe the American Public because he didnt want the news about Stormy Daniels out. So you have two sides of the coin here it was interesting. Yeah, go ahead. I think that theory that todd blanche put out today is going to run into some trouble because theyre going to hear from the prosecutors that it is actually a crime in New York State to promote a prevent an election. Its part of the New York State election laws, and it is specifically addresses a conspiracy between two people who tried to either promote or prevent an election through unlawful mean. So that is something they are going to hear. The prosecutors come back to time, time again. Im blanche says it was perfectly lawful and perfectly legal, but thats the problem. Thats the issue. Sure. That gets you right back to the underlying charge, which is of course the falsification of Business Record i think that there they have in some ways, i think logically painted themselves into a bit of a corner on the defense side today by putting both of these defenses out, one that he basically didnt know what the payments were for that he wasnt involved in making those ledger entries and those fraudulent entries. But on the other hand, saying, well, he did what he did not to influence so you election, he did it to protect his family and to spare them the embarrassment. I think those two things are fundamentally contradictory. If you knew that you are protecting your family, you knew what the payments were for early. It was interesting, david, of the National Enquirer it came out today that he had a separate work email when he didnt want any of this assistance at the National Enquirer to see that private separate work email. Uh, how significant is this testimony . His testimony in this case overall, a. Given the fact that he has immunity its critical because of the fact that he was in that august 2015 meeting that we talked about over at the magic wall that he can speak firsthand of conversations he had wi