New York:

Donald Trump will become the first former US president to face criminal charges on Monday, a pivotal moment for the country as the November presidential election approaches.

The process of selecting the jury that will decide the case is first underway, with a cast of key players expected to appear in court as the case progresses.

The key roles involved in the trial are:

– Donald Trump –

Former President Trump’s successful 2016 run for the White House is central to the issue.

Prosecutors allege that when he closed after his 2016 victory, he paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to cover up Trump’s alleged sexual relationship with her in 2006.

This in itself cannot be a crime.

But prosecutors allege that Trump and his lawyer, Michael Cohen, then conspired to hide the payments, illegally disguising the transactions as legitimate payments to Trump Organization accounts.

– Stormy Daniels –

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claimed in an interview on 60 Minutes that they met in 2006 at a popular golf tournament in Utah.

She says they went to Trump’s hotel room where they had sex, and the businessman suggested she appear on his hit TV show “The Apprentice.”

Trump denies that ever happened, setting up a potential clash between him and his lawyers as they are expected to testify.

– Michael Cohen: A Rejected Insider

Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, who has never denied his “pit bull” moniker, has become an ally of the former president and will be the prosecution’s star witness.

Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels — at Donald Trump’s request, he insists — and is federally convicted of paying it.

He is expected to present the former president’s alleged involvement to a jury, but the defense will present him as unreliable because he was convicted of making false statements to the US Congress.

– Prosecutor: Alvin Bragg –

A self-described “kid from Harlem” who fell victim to NYPD tactics as a teenager, Bragg attended Harvard and became the first African-American Manhattan prosecutor in January 2022.

Elected on the Democratic ticket, he inherited the Trump case and was criticized for initially trying to bury the former president — before indicting him.

Bragg led the prosecution in the Trump Organization tax fraud trial, which resulted in the group’s first criminal conviction in 2022.

– Judge Joan Murchan –

Murchin is a respected magistrate in his 60s, the child of Colombian parents who immigrated to the United States with him.

He has a reputation among other lawyers for being fair but firm, especially regarding the efficient conduct of proceedings in his court.

The case will not be heard Wednesday because Murchan will appear on duty in Manhattan’s mental health courts, which are modeled after the city’s drug courts.

He has already drawn Trump’s ire by accusing the veteran judge of alleged bias on behalf of the former president.

Trump accused Murchin of failing to ensure a fair trial because his daughter worked for a Democratic-affiliated campaign organization.

It prompted Murchan to extend a gag order, to prevent Trump from attacking juries and court staff, to include his own family.

– Trump’s lawyers –

Donald Trump’s attorneys, Susan Knuckles and Todd Blanche, are a pair of veteran attorneys who specialize in white-collar crime.

Educated at Yale Law School and head of his own law firm, Necheles is known to be particularly tough on cross-examination.

Todd Blanche spent ten years as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan before starting his career as a lawyer. He left a prestigious New York law firm to devote himself to defending Trump.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)