The first criminal trial of a former president in U.S. history is officially underway in a crowded Manhattan courtroom, where prosecutors and defense attorneys are beginning the arduous task of seating a 12-person jury in the case of The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump.
Flanked by his attorneys in room 1530 of the Manhattan Criminal Court, Trump is seated at a table where countless defendants before him have appeared. Monday's proceedings began with lawyers for both sides arguing over several aspects of the case, including what evidence should be admissible and what questions should be asked of potential jurors.
The first 96 out of several hundred New York residents who make up the jury pool were sworn in just after 2 p.m., formally marking the beginning of the historic trial. Jurors will fill out a questionnaire with some personal details, their knowledge of the case and their views on Trump in the first phase of jury selection.
Trump is charged with 34 state counts of falsifying business records related to a "hush money" payment his attorney made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, claiming the prosecution is part of a plot by Democrats aimed at preventing him from retaking the White House. The case is the first of the four criminal prosecutions against Trump to make it to trial.
The presumptive Republican nominee for president addressed reporters outside the courtroom before making his way inside.
"This is really an attack on a political opponent. That's all it is," Trump said. "So I'm very honored to be here."
Judge Juan Merchan took his seat on the bench just before 10 a.m. and called the proceedings to order. He quickly denied a motion from Trump's legal team asking him to recuse himself from the case. Trump's attorneys had argued that Merchan should step aside because of his daughter's employment at a consultancy firm that does work for Democratic candidates and progressive groups. Merchan said their argument relied upon "a series of inferences, innuendos and unsupported allegations."
Trump's lawyers and prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office argued over a handful of outstanding issues related to evidence, rules for the trial and the questions that potential jurors will answer.
Joshua Steinglass, a member of Bragg's team, said the prosecution would offer evidence that Trump conspired with his former attorney Michael Cohen and an executive at the parent company of the National Enquirer to suppress damaging stories about Trump, and publish negative stories about his rivals, before the 2016 election.
Steinglass said David Pecker, then the CEO of American Media, Inc., would testify that Pecker that "he ran these stories to bolster Mr. Trump's campaign" and that they were "shown to Mr Trump before they were published, so he could approve, suggest or reject changes." Steinglass said prosecutors would introduce evidence pointing to "a deal struck between the defendant and AMI to put their thumbs on the scale."
Todd Blanche, an attorney for Trump, said the evidence has "nothing to do with the charged crime." Merchan soon said he would allow prosecutors to use the evidence at trial.
Merchan also said he would allow evidence related to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who also alleged an affair with Trump and sold the rights to her story to the National Enquirer.
Other rulings went in the defense's favor. Merchan reiterated a previous decision that the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump can be heard talking about grabbing women, would not be played for the jury. He also disallowed a tape of Trump discussing the tape during an unrelated deposition.
Later, prosecutors indicated they would ask the judge why Trump shouldn't be held in contempt for apparent violations of a gag order that Merchan imposed weeks ago. The order limits what Trump can say publicly about many of those involved in the case, including potential witnesses. Trump has attacked two well-known key witnesses in the case, Cohen and Daniels, in social media posts since Merchan issued his order. Prosecutors asked the judge to hand down a fine of $1,000 each for three Trump posts and order that they be taken down. Merchan said he would hear arguments over the issue next week.
At several points during the arguments, Trump appeared to fall asleep at the defense table, his chin appearing to drop to his chest briefly. In one instance, He was stirred awake by his attorney, Blanche, who touched his shoulder and spoke to him.
Once the final pretrial questions were resolved, 96 of the more than 500 members members of the jury pool were escorted into the room. Merchan laid out the allegations against Trump, namely that he "falsified business records to conceal an agreement with others to unlawfully influence the 2016 presidential election."
He continued by mentioning Cohen and Daniels.
"Specifically, it is alleged that Donald Trump made or caused false business records to hide the true nature of payments made to Michael Cohen, by characterizing them as payment for legal services rendered pursuant to a retainer agreement," Merchan said. "The [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 encounter with Donald Trump."
The potential jurors will be asked to fill out a form with 42 questions ranging from the mundane — what jobs they hold — to the more pointed, like whether they follow Trump on social media. Some will then be called in for individual questioning. Trump's lawyers and prosecutors will seek to whittle the group of potential jurors down to just 12, plus half a dozen alternates, in a process that is expected to take at least a week, and likely longer.
Once jury selection is over, the two sides will then begin presenting their cases, with the prosecution going first.
As a criminal defendant, Trump is required to attend proceedings each day of the trial unless he applies for a waiver. Court personnel and lawyers from both sides have said they expect the trial to last between six and eight weeks.
Merchan reminded Trump that he must be in court every day of the trial, and issued a standard warning given to all criminal defendants that he will be subject to arrest if he fails to show up.
Graham KatesGraham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at [email protected] or [email protected]
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