Trump faces his 1st criminal trial. Here are the witnesses the prosecution is likely to call

For the first time ever, a former U.S. president is facing a criminal trial, with jury selection set to begin Monday in The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump.

The long and winding road to trial is an outgrowth of revelations first made public in January 2018 by the Wall Street Journal — namely, that Trump's lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, arranged a $130,000 US payment to buy the silence of a porn star.

Since the criminal indictment was filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg just over a year ago, there has been a vigorous debate among legal experts about the merits of the case, and whether it should be considered a hush money trial, an election interference trial or a fraud trial. Regardless, it will be history-making.

Officially, Trump faces 34 counts related to falsifying business records to hide hush money payments. He has characterized the prosecution as politically motivated, although Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards once faced a similar prosecution.

Here are some of the witnesses the prosecution may call. (Two caveats: It is not guaranteed that each and every one will take the stand to testify; and given the case involves business records, there could be revelatory testimony from people not on this list who are little known to the public.)

While Trump's lawyer, Cohen is said to have been intensely involved in a series of conversations and dealings concerning three people who claimed to have knowledge of extramarital affairs Trump engaged in while married to his current wife, Melania. Cohen also dealt extensively with the National Enquirer, which was aware of those affair allegations.

Cohen is said to have used his own money to make one of the hush money payments, the reimbursement of which is at the crux of this case.

WATCH l Cohen expounds on hush money payments, other Trump matters (from 2019):

Former Manhattan assistant district attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo called Cohen a "flawed witness" who "you have to 100 per cent corroborate, because he looks like he has a revenge motive," in conversation with CBC News last year.

Not only was Cohen imprisoned for crimes related to some of the allegations related to this Trump case, he also pleaded guilty to tax crimes related to his own enterprises that had nothing to do with his former boss.

Those facts, combined with Cohen having written two books since his split from Trump, give the defence plenty of opportunities to probe for inconsistencies and contradictions. Given Cohen's passionate speaking style, there could be some antagonistic exchanges when he's cross-examined, as seen in his previous congressional testimony.

More commonly known by her screen and stage name Stormy Daniels, Clifford could be referred to by her given name in proceedings. While she wasn't the first woman to receive a hush money payout (see below), her payment was of critically more importance.

That's because it was negotiated in the frantic days after the release of an Access Hollywood tape late in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, a tape that threatened to sink Trump's hopes of victory. In that recording, which can be described at trial but will not be played, Trump seems to brag about committing sexual assault in general terms.

Clifford — who has alleged a single sexual encounter with Trump, in 2006 — has detailed being in fear for her life after her name was made public. But since then, she's provided a lot of on-the-record statements in the form of interviews, a book and a new documentary.