he scoffed. He collapsed. He seemed to be asleep.
And all the while, he was apparently stuck.
Former President Donald Trump's first criminal trial began Monday with jury selection, but he is someone he never wanted to be. As a criminal defendant, he shines next to his lawyer, bound by the judgments of the judges he has criticized and the judgments of those judges. Pedestrian scheduling requirements for court systems.
“This is an attack on America. Nothing like this has ever happened before,” Trump said before appearing in court Monday morning, accusing his political opponents of orchestrating the trial but not presenting evidence. President Trump has claimed that charges of falsifying records to cover up his sex scandal with porn actress Stormy Daniels amounted to political persecution.
Still, he added, “I'm very honored to be here.”
Later this month, another group of Trump's lawyers will appear before the Supreme Court, seeking immunity from prosecution in another of Trump's criminal cases, a federal case related to efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election. I plan to claim that. election. They essentially ruled that Trump's status as president during the events in question meant he could not be tried as “Citizen Trump,” as a panel of appeals court judges could rule. It is planned to tell the country's highest court that this means that
But on Monday in New York, that's exactly what President Trump was. They are ordinary citizens, often referred to in court simply as “defendants,” who are undergoing criminal trials in their hometowns. Trump has long sought to use the justice system to his advantage, taking cues from the combative former lawyer and fixer Roy Cohn.
“He learned at the knee of Roy Cohn that if you have enough money and enough brutal will, you can use the court system as a weapon against your adversaries, critics, and enemies. They’re not going to fight back at you,” Tim O’Brien said. Trump's biographer was himself the subject of a defamation lawsuit from Trump, which was dismissed.
“He doesn't want to be in a public forum where evidence and facts are presented that contradict his interpretation,” O'Brien added.
“This is not a sprint”
Trump's lawyers have successfully delayed two federal lawsuits he faces over alleged possession of classified documents and his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Georgia prosecutors have proposed an August 5 start date for a Georgia trial on the latter issue.
But in New York, the scene began Monday. His campaign sent out fundraising emails in advance, with one email sent Friday saying “72 hours until all hell breaks loose,” building hype for the moment. . On Monday's Truth Social, he boasted that he has “200 million supporters” behind him.
My colleague Charles Homans stopped by the courthouse Monday morning. Members of the Young Republican Club of New York were protesting across the street, attracting about 100 demonstrators and a small number of counter-demonstrators by late morning.
“We're going to be here at an important moment,” said club executive director Viswanag Burra, adding that the atmosphere was more atmospheric than the showdown between Trump supporters and opponents outside of Trump's arraignment last year. He seemed to acknowledge how quiet he was. “This is not a sprint, it's a marathon.”
Nearby, right-wing media personality Laura Loomer, who is covering the trial for Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, was doing her best to stir up a circus. With a bullhorn in hand, she denounced the mainstream media's coverage of the trial (which made up perhaps half of those in attendance at the time).
under the bright and cold light
President Trump has sought to project strength and confidence regarding the trial, but it may not be easy.
On Monday, my colleague Maggie Haberman, sitting in the courtroom watching President Trump, pointed out how difficult it is to project an image of dignity in such an environment. There is a slightly strange smell in the dirty courtroom, where he is an “isolated island.'' A sea of people. ”
The trial will not be televised. But on Monday, the nation got a fleeting glimpse of the scene, with a photo of Trump leaning forward on a wooden defense table, holding his hand under bright, cold light, his face frozen and petrified. There was a picture of him there.
President Trump has previously told reporters that he did not want to be prosecuted, even if it contributed to the vote count. And on Sunday night, he posted on his social media site Truth Social that four years ago he was “an extremely popular and successful president of the United States, having received more votes than any sitting president in history.” I lamented that and ignored the next fact. Joe Biden got all that and more.
Ty Cobb, a lawyer who worked in the White House when Trump was under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller and has since paid close attention to Trump's public statements, said Trump He said he often considers himself a martyr and a hero.
“He's incorporated this into his political approach to some extent at this stage of the game,” he said. “That feeds into his victim mentality, which is constructive for his supporters.”
In terms of numbers
Trump is on trial. And yes, voters care.
Between four criminal trials and a civil lawsuit related to his business practices and sexual assault allegations, the deluge of legal news about Trump can be dizzying.many voters look The New York trial is the least serious of the four criminal cases. but, Times/Siena College Poll A survey conducted last week showed many voters are still paying attention.I asked my colleague Ruth IgielnikThe Times' polling editor explains what we know.
JB: How seriously do voters take these accusations?
Li: Fifty-eight percent of voters say the charges against Mr. Trump in the New York incident are very or somewhat serious. Democrats are the most likely to think the charges are serious, with nearly 90 percent saying so, and majorities of women, young voters and black voters say they think the charges are serious. But about one in four Trump supporters say they also think the charges against him are serious.
JB: How much attention are voters paying to this case, and who is paying the most attention?
Li: Only about a quarter of voters said they were paying a lot of attention to Trump's lawsuit, and 62% said they were paying at least some attention. Democrats are paying far more attention to the trial than Republicans. Independents are the least likely to say they are paying attention to President Trump's legal battles.
JB: Do people think Trump is guilty?
Li: Almost half of Americans think Trump should be found guilty in this trial. Unsurprisingly, opinions are divided along party lines, with 84% of Democrats saying he should be found guilty and 71% of Republicans saying he should be acquitted. Still, 13% of Republicans say they think he should be convicted. Importantly, 18 percent of all voters said they were unsure whether he should be found guilty. This is a relatively high percentage in our study. This group is disproportionately made up of Trump supporters, with about half believing the charges against Trump are serious.
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Questions about the trial
The case against Trump in New York is sordid, consequential, and deeply confusing.
There are 34 complex charges. cast of witnesses. Some unusual political implications.
To help you make sense of it all, we're asking our readers to ask questions about the trial. Please tell me what you want to know. We'll look for answers and bring them to you in future issues of this newsletter.
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