After a year of legal battles and a week of jury selection, today marked the real beginning of the former US president's first indictment. It's a courtroom drama about a lawyer's entourage, a serious judge, and 12 Manhattanites being sentenced.
New York unfolded a winding saga involving hush money, illicit sexual contacts and a fight for the White House. The defense argues that this is all nonsense and a far-fetched attempt to pursue a felony for what would otherwise be a minor record-keeping error.
As prosecutors have said, the case facing the man who made his name in Hollywood on the contrived drama “The Apprentice'' requires no ingenuity. In a 45-minute opening statement, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said he was shaken by the disturbing revelations in the “Access Hollywood” tapes and desperately wanted to stop a new scandal smoldering in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election. He told a complex story about Donald Trump.
The charges concerned a sexual encounter with porn star Stormy Daniels in 2006. Colangelo said his campaign was upset by the Access Hollywood tape in which former President Trump bragged about grabbing a woman's genitals, and that he wanted to “shut her up and keep the public from knowing about the sexual encounter.” He agreed to pay Mr. Daniels $130,000 to ensure that he did not have to do so.
Colangelo added that “this was not a spin or a communication strategy” but part of a larger effort to deceive American voters.
“This was a deliberate, coordinated, long-term conspiracy to influence the 2016 election to elect Donald Trump through illegal spending,” he said. '' he added.
When it was the defense's turn, the former president's lawyers used their time to minimize the charges, claiming they all constituted “violations of business records,” and trying to humanize Trump as a defendant the jury could empathize with.
“This is important. He's not just a former president, he's not just the Donald Trump you see on TV and read about,” said Todd Blanche, the former president's lead attorney. “He's also a man, his husband and his father.”
Mr. Trump, whose children and wife were not in court for the first five days of the trial, appeared mostly calm in the defense room, occasionally glancing at Mr. Branch as he spoke for about 30 minutes.
Blanche said there was nothing wrong with trying to influence elections, adding: “It's called democracy.”
“Only 34 pieces of paper”
Blanche noted that despite prosecutors' statements, Trump has not been charged with conspiracy. He also said the 34 felonies facing Trump are “just 34 pieces of paper” related to payments to Michael Cohen, the president's former fixer who is expected to be a leading government witness. said.
Naturally, Blanche avoided special contempt, calling Cohen a perjurer and a criminal. “He cheated on his taxes, he lied to banks, he lied about his side hustle,” Blanche said.
When prosecutors announced they were pursuing Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, Colangelo mentioned at least twice that Trump was married, and that cheating was also part of the prosecutor's case. It seems that it was a club. .
Once the trial was over, the first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, took the stand. He describes his mission as tabloid guru as paying people to write about celebrities, developing sources among ground-level employees, and trying to get famous faces on the cover. He provided some interesting details, including what he has always aspired to do.
Despite being the first to testify, Pecker appeared relaxed, sharing several laughs with prosecutor Joshua Steinglass and speaking directly to jurors about other cases. Tomorrow's testimony is expected to be even more intense, with Mr. Pecker alleging a “catch-and-kill” arrangement in which the supermarket tabloid's publisher buys unflattering stories about the Confederacy, which then get even more hype. is likely to reveal the outline of And of course he ends up being cross-examined.
The trial date was cut short due to Passover and a dental emergency with the jury, but Judge Juan Melchán, the veteran jurist overseeing the trial, appears intent on letting things continue.
After the jury retired for the day, Marchan addressed some minor legal issues and will reconvene his lawyers tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. to discuss possible violations of the gag order by President Trump in the case. A ruling is expected to be made.
The jury is scheduled to return at 11 a.m. amid continued concerns for the safety of the jurors. Marchan said today that one juror had expressed concerns about the media attention the case would attract, but after a brief meeting in the judge's quarters, he agreed to remain on the jury.
Today, the committee (12 seated jurors and six alternate jurors) seems almost preoccupied, with many asking for paper and pen to take notes and paying close attention to both sides. was.
And if there are any indications on the first day of testimony, you may need a few more notebooks.
Here it is Teams we report on clinical trials to. We will be sending more frequent updates during the hearing, including breaking news and weekly analysis on Thursdays.
your question
We ask our readers what they want to know about the Trump case, including the charges, the process, and the key players. Please fill out this form to submit your question.
What if only one juror believes Trump is innocent?What happens if the jury is hung? — Jeffrey Siegel, Chicago
Jesse: A miscarriage of justice would be a major victory for Trump. Prosecutors may then decide to retry the former president, but that will take time. It will also likely allow President Trump to continue criticizing the incident as weak and politically motivated as the clock ticks toward the November election.
What else to see
Where does each criminal case fall under?
Mr. Trump is at the center of at least four separate criminal investigations at both the state and federal level into matters related to his business and political career. The position in each case is as follows.
