When the order is issued in Courtroom 1530 of Manhattan Criminal Court around 9:30 ET on Monday morning, it will usher in an event never before seen in American history: a former president on trial for alleged crimes.
Flanked by his lawyers, Secret Service agents and key campaign staff, Donald Trump will be seated on the left side of the largest courtroom in the 83-year-old building, at a table where countless defendants have appeared before him. .
The case is the first of four criminal proceedings against Trump to go to trial. He faces charges in two federal cases brought by special prosecutor Jack Smith in Washington, D.C., and Florida, and in a second state case brought by Georgia prosecutors. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, claiming that the prosecutions are part of a plot by his political opponents aimed at preventing him from regaining the White House.
Monday’s proceedings will begin with Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office arguing over some outstanding issues related to the rules of the trial. So, the first of more than 500 potential jurors You will be escorted to the room. By then, many will have noted the extraordinary security apparatus outside and inside the courthouse, as well as the anticipated pro- and anti-Trump protesters. At Trump’s recent civil defamation trial just a block away, several would-be jurors seemed visibly surprised when they first saw him sitting at the defense table.
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Many will be able to see Trump and observe any of his reactions as the judge describes the case. The allegations, New York State Judge Juan Merchan are expected to say, “are, in essence, that Donald Trump falsified business records to conceal an agreement with others to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election.”
He will continue mentioning the names of two acquaintances key witnesses in the casewhom Trump considers archenemies: his former lawyer Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels.
“Specifically, Donald Trump is alleged to have created or caused false business records to conceal the true nature of payments made to Michael Cohen, characterizing them as payment for legal services provided pursuant to a retainer agreement,” Merchan will say, according to the previous information. to the trial. court filings. “(Prosecutors) allege that, in fact, the payments were intended to reimburse Michael Cohen for money he paid to Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, in the weeks before the presidential election to prevent her from publicly revealing details about a past sexual relationship. encounter with Donald Trump.”
As a criminal defendant, Trump must attend proceedings every day of the trial unless he requests a waiver. He will watch on Monday, and probably for several days to come, as his lawyers and prosecutors try to narrow the pool of potential jurors to just 12, plus some alternates. Both sides will then begin to present their cases.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. He has accused Bragg of bringing the case for political gain. In a letter to members of Congress last year, a lawyer for Bragg responded to that allegation, saying that “they were brought by citizens of New York, fulfilling their civic duty as members of a grand jury, who found probable cause for accuse Mr. Trump of having committed crimes in New York.”