After four days of jury selection, the first criminal trial of a former president moved into the argument phase Monday in New York City.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office and defense attorneys for former President Trump gave their opening statements to a jury that was sworn in last week. And the first witness, magazine publisher David Pecker, was called to the stand and sworn in. He started his testimony before court adjourned for the day. He’ll get back on the stand on Tuesday.
Prosecutors will need to convince the jury that Trump falsified business records with the intent to defraud and to commit or further another crime to prove he is guilty.
Court has adjourned for the day. Jurors were told to return to the courthouse around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Here’s a recap of how Monday’s proceedings unfolded.
Trump told reporters as he left the courtroom that the trial went “very well” Monday.
The former president went on to complain that the case was “very unfair” and was keeping him from campaigning.
“They take this payment and they call it a legal expense, and you heard today for the first time, this is what I got indicted on. This is what took me off — and takes me off — the campaign trail. Because I should be in Georgia now; I should be in Florida now. I shouldn’t be a lot of different places right now campaigning, and I’m sitting here and this will go on for a long time. It’s very unfair.”
— Brett Samuels
Judge Juan Merchan adjourned for the day, after David Pecker gave brief testimony about himself and his job as former CEO of American Media.
On Tuesday, the judge will hold a hearing regarding what prosecutors say are several violations of a gag order imposed on Trump.
Jurors are expected back at the court tomorrow at 11 a.m. to resume Pecker’s testimony.
— Ella Lee
The jurors have been excused for the day. Court was expected to have a short day because of the Passover holiday. A juror’s medical appointment set the end time a bit earlier.
David Pecker testified that any “juicy stories” were run by him before publication, and he had final say on what was published.
A deputy, then-National Enquirer Editor-in-Chief Dylan Howard, ran the paper’s “network of sources.”
“His job was to make sure we had the most exclusive and current content,” Pecker said.
— Ella Lee
David Pecker served as the CEO of American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer and other publications.
Pecker is expected to testify about a meeting he had with Trump and his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, two months after Trump announced his 2016 presidential campaign.
In the meeting, Pecker allegedly agreed to look for negative stories about Trump and alert Cohen before they were published. That agreement is what sparked the hush money deals at the center of the case.
— Zach Schonfeld
Alina Habba and Chris Kise, attorneys who represent Trump in his civil fraud case, were spotted by pool reporters in the hallway outside the courtroom.
This morning, Habba and Kise were scheduled to appear in a courthouse down the street to defend Trump’s bond in his fraud case. The hearing reportedly adjourned after the parties reached an agreement.
“The fact that we have two courts — not one — criminal and civil, being used against one man because they cannot beat him in the polls is a disgrace to the American judicial system. You should not have two teams of lawyers here today,” Habba told reporters.
— Zach Schonfeld
The district attorney’s office has called David Pecker, ex-CEO of American Media Inc., as its first witness. He’s taking the stand.
— Ella Lee
Opening statements from the prosecution lasted about 45 minutes, and Trump’s defense took just a bit less time, around 35 minutes.
— Ella Lee
Opening statements have concluded. The judge said the court will take a 10-minute break.
— Zach Schonfeld
Blanche urged the jury to find Trump not guilty by using “common sense.”
“We’re New Yorkers; it’s why we’re here,” he said.
“If you do that, there will be a very swift ‘not guilty’ verdict,” he added.
— Ella Lee
Moving on from Cohen, Blanche next went after one of prosecutors’ other expected, high-profile witnesses: Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who was paid the hush money at the center of the case.
Trump had unsuccessfully sought to block her testimony. Blanche told jurors that Daniels “doesn’t know anything” about Trump’s actual charges, which correspond to alleged documents created in paying Cohen after he sent the hush money.
“Her testimony, while salacious, does not matter,” Blanche said.
— Zach Schonfeld
Within minutes, Trump attorney Todd Blanche started going after Michael Cohen, Trump’s ex-fixer who made the hush money payment at the center of the case and is expected to be prosecution’s star witness.
Blanche noted Cohen’s many media appearances expressing an excitement to see Trump convicted and also brought up instances where Cohen was found to have lied.
“I submit to you that he cannot be trusted,” Blanche said.
Todd Blanche took aim at the district attorney’s portrayal of the case as an effort by Trump and his allies to influence the 2016 election.
“I have a spoiler alert: There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election,” Blanche said. “It’s called democracy.”
— Ella Lee
The former president turned his body sideways to watch his attorney give opening remarks in his first criminal trial. His eyes have occasionally wandered over to the jury box and the judge, but he appears intently focused on his attorney’s remarks.
— Ella Lee
Todd Blanche said the 34 counts of falsifying business records Manhattan prosecutors brought against Trump are “really just 34 pieces of paper.”
The records include Michael Cohen’s allegedly bogus invoices for legal fees, Trump’s checks reimbursing Cohen and ledger entries documenting the reimbursements in Trump’s accounting records.
“None of this was a crime,” he said.
— Ella Lee