‘This case is nonsense’: Donald Trump’s rant as historic trial begins
The first ever criminal trial of a US President has begun with Donald Trump visibly angry at proceedings but also asking favours of the judge.
Former US President Donald Trump has ranted – and reportedly even nodded off – in a New York courthouse as the first day of his historic trial kicked off.
Mr Trump, who is all but certain to face Joe Biden at the ballot box in November, is the first US President to ever face a criminal trial.
The 77-year-old is accused of falsifying business records in a scheme to cover up an alleged extramarital sexual encounter with adult film actor Stormy Daniels to shield his 2016 election campaign from a last-minute upheaval.
Due to it being a criminal trial, Mr Trump will have to attend every day the court is in session. It could last eight weeks. It means that for the next few months, Mr Trump will realistically only be able to campaign for the presidency on weekends and Wednesdays, when the court doesn't sit.
The first day saw the judge urged to fine Mr Trump for potentially violating a gag order, Mr Trump’s infamous “grab ‘em by the p***y” recording read out word-for-word and a plea from the former leader that he take a day off next month so he can attend his son’s school graduation.
As he walked into the Manhattan courtroom, the Republican candidate railed at the proceedings and said the court case was “nonsense” and an “outrage”.
“This is an assault on America, nothing like this has ever happened before, there’s never been anything like it,”
“Every legal scholar said this case is nonsense, it should have never been brought.”
Referring to himself in the third person, he then claimed that even “people that don’t necessarily like Donald Trump,” have said that it was an “outrage,” the case was taking place.
“This is political persecution, this is a persecution like never before, nobody has ever seen anything like it”.
The prosecution would disagree and have insisted Mr Trump has a case to answer.
When Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office is prosecuting the case, walked into the court, he glanced briefly at Mr Trump. But the former President did not do the same, staring straight ahead, the New York Post reported.
Photos of the courtroom were allowed prior to the session beginning but photographers were then ushered out.
‘Appears to be sleeping’
“Good morning Mr Trump,” Judge Juan Merchan said to the defendant in the courtroom, where the Republican sat with hunched shoulders and a stern expression.
He warned Mr Trump – as every defendant is warned – that if he interrupted proceedings he could be jailed while the case takes place.
The first order of business is jury selection but given the notoriety of the case it could take as much as two weeks for defence lawyers and prosecutors to agree on the panel of 12 jurors, from a pool of 500. Around 100 were in court on Monday, answering questions on Mr Trump.
It’s a laborious process and the New York Times, in court, suggested Mr Trump a one point very much stopped paying attention.
“Trump appears to be sleeping. His head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack,” wrote one reporter.
He then “apparently jolted back awake,” and discovered some notes his lawyer had passed to him.
The so-called hush money affair is one of four criminal cases hanging over Mr Trump.
If convicted, Mr Trump would potentially face years in prison, but legal observers consider this unlikely.
Even so, the prospect of Mr Trump becoming a convicted criminal throws an unprecedented wildcard into an already unpredictable November 5 election, where he wants to defeat Mr Biden and retake the White House.
Attempting to keep up his trademark bravado, Mr Trump said last week that he will take the stand in the trial — a highly unusual and often risky move for defendants.
Mr Trump is accused of illegally covering up remittances to his longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who was using the funds to pay Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about the alleged sexual encounter in the final weeks of the 2016 election campaign.
A New York grand jury indicted Mr Trump in March 2023 over the payments made to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, with the ex-president charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records.
He denies the charges and says the encounter with Ms Clifford and another with a Playboy nude model, whose story he also allegedly covered up, did not happen.
Mr Trump also claims he will not get a fair trial in heavily Democratic New York. Even if convicted, he would be able to appeal and would not be barred from continuing to run, or even being elected president on November 5.
‘Grab ‘em by the p***y’
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass found a way to introduce the now infamous 2005 recording for TV show Access Hollywood into proceedings where Mr Trump said of women he found atrrractive that he would “Grab ‘em by the p***y”.
Mr Steinglass argued that the video was an “admission of sexual assault” and “living proof that the defendant wasn’t all talk.,” reported the New York Post.
The judge had said the clip could not be played as it might be prejudicial to jurors.
But he allowed the prosecution to speak the recording word-for word on Monday and to jurors when they sit.
Son’s graduation plea
Mr Trump’s lawyers asked the judge if their client could take May 17 off. Mr Trump has to be every sitting day of his trial so he has pleaded to be able to go to son Barron’s high school graduation ceremony on that day.
Judge Merchan said he will rule on the request later.
The prosecution has additionally asked that the judge rule on whether Mr Trump breached a gag order due to several social media posts mentioning witnesses.
The have called for him to be fined $3000 ($A465,000).
The judge has said he will make a ruling in that next week.
Four criminal cases
Mr Trump’s other three criminal cases — centred on his alleged hoarding of top-secret documents in Florida after he left the White House and his involvement in attempts to overturn the 2020 election — all face multiple delays.
In the New York case, Mr Trump has repeatedly failed to secure meaningful delays, and Merchan has signalled he will run the trial with a firm hand.
Last week, the judge extended an existing gag order, in place to prevent Trump from attacking those involved in the trial, widening it to cover family members of the judge and Manhattan District Attorney Mr Bragg.
The expansion of the order came after Mr Trump lashed out at Judge Merchan and his daughter in a series of posts on Truth Social
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