U.S. chief justice faces unfamiliar glare of spotlight at Trump trial

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts presides over the opening of the U.S. Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in this frame grab from video shot in the Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2020. REUTERS/U.S. Senate TV/Handout via Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts is poised to become a key figure in the political life of President Donald Trump.

The publicity-shy, traditional conservative jurist not only will preside over the Republican president's Senate impeachment trial that formally began on Thursday but in the coming months will cast potentially decisive votes in major cases before the Supreme Court including one in which Trump is fighting to keep his financial records secret.