NEW: The jurors have been excused for the day just after David Pecker, the former chairman of American Media, home of the National Enquirer, was about to start discussing Bonnie Fuller, the former US Weekly editor who was “killing it.” 1/

NEW: Opening statements in the Trump criminal trial are now over. The DA’s opening was tight, practiced, and mostly chronological before they doubled back to cover perceived vulnerabilities of the case. But the defense’s opening drew objections that were sustained. 1/

NEW: At the beginning of his opening statement, Todd Blanche is arguing that Trump’s payments to Cohen, totaling $420,000, couldn’t possibly be payback for the Stormy Daniels settlement. He was actually paying for legal services, Blanche insists. 1/

I’ll be watching three legal stories unfold Monday: the real opening of the Manhattan DA’s trial; the hearing on whether to cancel Trump’s $175 million bond; & the public filing of witness statements in the MAL docs case.

A true New York split-screen: As the Manhattan DA opens its case in the Trump criminal trial Monday morning, a court just steps away will hear argument on whether Trump’s $175 million bond to stay the civil fraud trial judgment should be vitiated, as the New York AG argues. 1/