New York:
“Good morning, Mr. Trump.”
A New York judge's innocent greeting belied the grim expression on Donald Trump's face as he sat flanked by his lawyers in the Manhattan Criminal Courts on Monday.
As his legal team grappled with the prosecution over what evidence could be admitted, the first former U.S. president to face a criminal trial listened intently and — except for a few words spoken in response to Judge Juan Merchan — in silence.
The case, which could have enormous ramifications for both Trump and the country, is being heard in Courtroom 1530 in an imposing, scaffolding-covered Art Deco courthouse on Center Street in New York City.
Trump wore his signature red tie with a white shirt, dark blue suit and an American flag lapel pin as Merchan declared the trial open.
The 45th president gave the magistrate a defiant look after accusing him of being “corrupt” on his Truth Social platform after Merchan rejected repeated calls from the defense to withdraw.
“We want justice to be done, that's all we want,” the judge said.
The case is expected to last two months and centers on payments made to former pornographic film star Stormy Daniels as Trump neared his 2016 election victory.
– 'Political persecution'? –
Trump did not largely disrupt the technical procedures, as he has done in other cases.
That includes his civil fraud case, which was heard in a nearby courthouse and resulted in a $355 million civil fine that he is appealing.
Time may be against Trump, who is campaigning to oust President Joe Biden from the White House in the November election, as jury selection alone could take up to two weeks.
There will be more than 100 potential jurors in the courtroom at any time, from a pool of 500.
Trump regularly consulted with the lawyers on either side of him, shaking his head in annoyance when prosecutors made comments he disagreed with.
“It's true,” he muttered at one point in response to an audio tape of him bragging about how well he treats women.
However, he did not respond when the now infamous clip in which he describes grabbing women by their genitals was played by prosecutors.
Before sitting down and crossing his hands at a brown wooden table where his lawyers spread out their files, the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election set the tone for the trial.
This is an “attack on America” and “political persecution,” denounced the 77-year-old billionaire, who could face jail time if convicted.
“It's a country that's failing, it's a country that's run by an incompetent man who is deeply involved in this matter,” Trump said. “This is really an attack on a political opponent, that's all, so I'm very honored to be here.”
Moments later, five photographers were brought in to capture the unprecedented scene: a former president sitting at the defendant's table.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)