Donald Trump arrived at a Manhattan court on April 22 to essentially begin the hush money case. He will become the first US president, current or former, to give opening statements in a criminal trial.
A jury of seven men and five women living in Manhattan will consider whether Trump’s alleged efforts to cover up an affair with an adult movie star that he feared would hurt his 2016 reelection bid were were illegal.
In the spring of 2023, Trump was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business documents.
The lawsuit, filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, hinges on a $130,000 payment former Trump lawyer and confidant Michael Cohen made to Stormy Daniels to keep her story secret. Bragg alleged that Trump concealed the true nature of the payment in business documents by describing it as legitimate legal expenses.
Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018, is expected to be one of the prosecution’s key witnesses. Trump denies having a sexual relationship with Daniels and insists the payments to Cohen were purely legal expenses.
The New York case is just one of several criminal proceedings against Trump. He faces federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, as well as his handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home. In Georgia, he faces state-level charges related to an alleged attempt to rig the results of the 2020 election.
However, Trump is on track to win the Republican presidential nomination this summer after handily defeating his party rivals.
The first week of Trump’s trial has been punctuated by some comic moments and, at one point, tragic chaos. For four days of jury selection, Trump had to listen to his fellow New Yorkers talk about why they couldn’t be fair jurors in his trial.
Many of the jurors were removed immediately, but several others withdrew after being selected, citing the pressure they felt from participating.
On Friday, April 19, just as the six alternate jurors were being selected, a man set himself on fire in front of the courthouse.
