The trial, which is expected to last weeks, has a fascinating list of potential witnesses: Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer turned apostate, who made the payment; Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who says she, too, had an affair with Trump; and Hope Hicks, a former aide to Trump. Daniels may testify.
Before any of that happens, a jury must be selected, a winnowing that began Monday.
Here are five takeaways from Trump’s first day on trial:
Merchan is no-nonsense. That hasn’t favoured the defence
Merchan, a veteran New York jurist, has been consistent about batting back defence motions on issues including the tardy disclosure of documents by prosecutors and efforts to delay or even dismiss the case.
That pattern continued Monday, as Merchan rejected a defense effort to force his recusal. The defence had cited several issues, including the fact that his daughter is a Democratic political consultant.
He also ruled that prosecutors could introduce evidence regarding Trump’s involvement with coordinating publicity with The National Enquirer to aid his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump’s lawyers had described the evidence as a “sideshow,” but lost.
But Trump’s lawyers convinced Merchan that sexual assault allegations that arose against Trump after the release of the Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump was caught bragging about grabbing women’s genitals, would be prejudicial to the former president. Merchan said the allegations would be off-limits during the trial, calling them “complete rumours, complete gossip, completely hearsay.”
The trial is about much more than business records
Merchan’s decisions Monday made it clear that the trial will resurface unsavoury events in the former president’s life.
Those include the Access Hollywood tape and other stories that Trump sought to suppress including an alleged affair with McDougal. Merchan said Monday that both could be discussed.
In a minor victory for the defence, the judge reaffirmed that the Access Hollywood tape itself could not be played, but that Trump’s exact words could be entered into the record.
Still, most of Merchan’s rulings indicated that salacious details of Trump’s biography will be heard in court.
Trump says he’s happy. His demeanour suggests otherwise
Entering the courtroom, Trump said he was “very proud to be here.”
Once he was in front of Merchan, Trump looked a lot less enthusiastic. He slouched. He scowled. He scoffed. And he was quiet, not the norm for a man who built a political career with his gift for slashing attacks and vicious put-downs.
In court, the former president spoke only briefly, when asked a few questions by Merchan about procedural matters, and whether he understood the consequences — ejection or jail — if he interrupted proceedings. He did whisper with his lawyers. And when the prosecution played a recording of him claiming to have great respect for women, he mouthed the word “true.”
But all in all, it seems it could be an exhausting experience for Trump; at one point before lunch, he appeared to fall asleep.
This trial may take a while
It’s easy to forget how long it takes to do a little in legal settings. On Monday, the morning session was dominated by manoeuvring by prosecutors and the defence, even as prospective jurors waited. By lunch, they were still waiting.
Jury selection could take days or weeks, and the trial itself may take two months. The Passover holiday could cause delays, Merchan said, though he might make some of that up by holding hearings on court matters on Wednesdays, which was previously going to be an off day.
We are on our way to picking a jury. Slowly
By afternoon, prospective jurors finally made their way into Merchan’s courtroom. He warmly welcomed them, introduced the lawyers and Trump and read them a summary of the case.
Merchan asked if any believed they could not be fair and impartial to the former president. Of the 96 prospective jurors in the room at that time, more than 50 raised their hands. They were immediately excused.
The remaining jurors were each asked 42 questions. By the end of Monday, 11 jurors had been questioned and two more were excused: a woman who said she could not be fair and a man who said his child’s wedding date could conflict with the trial.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Written by: Jesse McKinley and Kate Christobek
Photographs by: Jefferson Siegel
©2024 THE NEW YORK TIMES
