After a year of legal wrangling and a week of jury selection, today marked the actual beginning of the first prosecution of a former American president – a courtroom drama with legal broadsides, a no-nonsense judge and 12 Manhattanites sitting in on the verdict.
New York State told a twisted tale of hush money, illicit sexual encounters and a battle for the White House. The defense says it’s all a no-brainer: an over-the-top attempt to bring felony charges for actions that amounted to only minor, if any, record-keeping errors.
As prosecutors described it, the case of a man who made his name in Hollywood with the manufactured drama “The Apprentice” needs no fabrication. In a 45-minute opening statement, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told a complex story of Donald Trump desperately trying to contain another simmering scandal in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election – rocked by the seedy revelations of the “Access Hollywood” tape.
The allegation related to a sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels, a porn star, in 2006. Colangelo said Trump agreed to pay Daniels $130,000 “to silence her and to make sure the public doesn’t know anything about it.” sexual encounter,” while his campaign was rocked by the “Access Hollywood” video in which the former president bragged about grabbing women’s genitals.
Colangelo added: “This was not spin or a communications strategy,” but rather part of a larger attempt to deceive American voters.
“This was a planned, coordinated, long-term conspiracy to influence the 2016 election and get Donald Trump elected through illegal spending,” he said, adding: “It was voter fraud.”
When it was the defense’s turn, the former president’s lawyers used their time to downplay the allegations – saying they all amounted to “violation of business records” – and tried to humanize Trump by portraying him as a defendant, with which the jury could identify.
“This is important: He’s not just our 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 is also a man, he is a husband, he is a father. And just like me.”
Trump, whose children and wife were not in court for the first five days of the trial, appeared largely subdued at the defense table, sometimes glancing at Blanche as he spoke for about 30 minutes.
Blanche said there was nothing wrong with influencing an election, adding: “That’s called democracy.”
“Only 34 sheets of paper”
Blanche pointed out that despite what prosecutors said, Trump was not charged with conspiracy. He also called the 34 felony counts Trump faces “just 34 pieces of paper” related to payments to Michael Cohen, the president’s former fixer who is expected to be the government’s star witness.
Not surprisingly, Blanche held Cohen with particular contempt, calling him a perjurer and a criminal. “He cheated on his taxes, he lied to the banks, he lied about his side businesses,” Blanche said.
Fraud also appeared to be part of the prosecution’s case, as Colangelo mentioned at least twice that Trump was married at the time prosecutors alleged he was pursuing Daniels and Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who also claims to be having an affair with to have had the former president.
As openings concluded, the first witness, David Pecker, former editor of the National Enquirer, took the stand. He shared juicy details about his calling as a tabloid guru: paying people for stories about celebrities, tapping sources among low-level employees and always looking for a famous face on the cover.
Despite being the first on the stand, Pecker appeared relaxed, laughing several times along with prosecutor Joshua Steinglass and addressing the jury directly on other occasions. Testimony is expected to be more intense tomorrow, with Pecker likely to lay out the outlines of “catch-and-kill” arrangements in which supermarket tabloid editors buy unflattering stories about allies and then spice them up. And of course he will be cross-examined at some point.
The trial day was cut short by Passover and a juror’s dental emergency, but Judge Juan Merchan – a veteran jurist overseeing the proceedings – appears determined to keep things moving.
After the jury departed for today, Merchan addressed several minor legal issues and will reconvene lawyers tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. to rule on possible violations by Trump of a gag order in the case.
The jury is expected back at 11 a.m., although concerns for their welfare continue. Merchan said today that a seated juror had expressed concerns about media attention in the case but – after a brief meeting in the judge’s quarters – agreed to remain on the jury.
Today, the panel – 12 seated jurors and six alternates – seemed largely absorbed and paid close attention to both sides, with many asking for pen and paper to take notes.
And if the first day of testimony was any indication, they might need a few more notebooks.
Here is the team reporting on the trial. We will send you more frequent updates throughout the process, including breaking news alerts and our weekly analysis on Thursdays.
Your questions
We ask readers what they want to know about the Trump cases: the charges, the trial, the key players, or anything else. You can send us your question by filling out this form.
What happens if only one juror believes Trump is not guilty? What happens if the jury is empty? —Jeffrey Siegel, Chicago
Jesse: A mistrial would be a major victory for Trump. Prosecutors could then decide to charge the former president again, but that would take time. This would also likely allow Trump to continue criticizing the case as weak and politically motivated, even as the clock continued to tick toward the November election.
What else is there to see?
Where is the respective criminal case?
Trump is the focus of at least four separate criminal investigations at both the state and federal levels into matters related to his business and political career. Here is the status of each case.
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2024-04-22 21:10:59
www.nytimes.com
