On Monday, the first criminal trial of Donald Trump will start with opening statements, and there is the possibility that one or more witnesses will testify. CNN is reporting that the first witness could be National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
The prosecution will be up first and is expected to describe how Trump orchestrated a scheme to suppress stories involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels just weeks before the 2016 election, at a time when the release of the “Access Hollywood” recording had already damaged his campaign.
Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, and the prosecution is expected argue that Trump illegally covered up a scandal that could have altered the outcome of the 2016 election.
Trump’s defense team is likely to focus on Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, painting him as the real source of any illegal acts. Trump’s attorneys may also follow the tactic Trump has taken in social media by describing the entire case as politically motivated.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:44:02 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Thanks for hanging in there through the first morning of testimony in Trump’s first criminal trial. As noted below, the prosecution intends to show that Trump had a pattern of not just promiscuity, but ignoring the law in handling his business transactions. In 2016, both of those things came together in a scheme to conceal Trump’s scandals by falsely reporting a series of monetary transactions. That scheme was directly related to protecting Trump’s position in the polls and may have been critical in determining the outcome of the election.
Trump’s defense will paint the catch-and-kill scheme as something that a lot of wealthy celebrities have in place to deal with those who try to extort them for cash. They’ll dismiss most of the prosecution’s case as trying to titillate the jury with scandal while maintaining that there’s no real case, but only some boring paperwork that is being mischaracterized by noted liar Michael Cohen.
And the jury is going to get a helluva ride.
Tune in tomorrow.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:33:37 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
And that’s it. Things are ending early today and tomorrow in recognition of the Passover holiday. But once again, Merchan shows that he wants to squeeze every bit of trial into every moment available.
Now that they’ve actually heard the first moments of testimony and started taking notes, it will be interesting to see if the jurors feel “hooked,” cutting off additional worries about anyone walking away because of media scrutiny. Also, at least in the sources followed today, there was much more care demonstrated in not describing the jurors.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:29:42 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Pecker talking about Howard is as far as things get today. Merchan asks the prosecution to pause so he can issue instructions to the jury before they depart.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:28:17 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Remember Merchan saying that jurors could take notes? Almost every source in the courtroom has mentioned the same thing: Jurors seem to be taking a lot of notes.
As Jonah Bromwich notes at The New York Times, this is going to be an interesting case for jurors, and not just because it involves Trump. They are getting a big behind-the-scenes look at the world of celebrity and scandal that’s usually only encountered when reading the headlines.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:25:30 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:24:33 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Just 10 minutes left to the scheduled end of day, but Pecker is still talking.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:23:10 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Keeping things moving seems to be Judge Merchan’s central theme, and we are moving directly into testimony.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:21:50 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:11:54 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
From what we heard this morning, it seems like the two cases are going to work out this way:
Prosecution will walk through Trump’s catch-and-kill scandal scheme, showing the roles that Cohen and Pecker played. That means revisiting three cases:
In addition, the jury will hear about other cases, including the Trump Foundation and civil fraud trial, showing Trump’s frequent disregard for proper handling of his business dealings. And they’ll get a refresher on Trump’s sexual assault trial against E. Jean Carroll and the “Access Hollywood” incident to cover Trump’s abusive, dismissive attitude toward women as well as his own sense of privilege. The Carroll defamation case may also play a role when it comes to what’s likely to be the defense’s biggest line of attack: going after Cohen.
Defense will more or less concede that the catch-and-kill scheme existed, but will paint it as nothing special. They’ll present McDougal and Daniels as people who attempted to extort Trump and were paid a small amount to go away. Instead of defending this part of the story, defense will focus on undercutting Cohen and focusing on the supposed crimes behind the 34 felony counts. In other words, they’ll accuse the prosecution of trying to distract the jury with scandal while saying that no actual crime occurred.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:54:28 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Blanche wraps up his opening with another round of attacks on Cohen and telling the jurors to listen to the evidence and use “their common sense.”
“We’re New Yorkers,” says Blanche. “That’s why we’re here.”
With that, court goes into a 10-minute break. Considering that there will be only a half hour left on the day when things resume, it’s unclear if we’ll actually see David Pecker take the stand.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:51:16 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Trump is having a better day in Engoron’s court.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:49:55 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Blanche insists that Stormy Daniels owes Trump $600,000 for violating her NDA and “knows nothing about the charges here.”
Maybe Blanche is trying to gain jury sympathy by making it seem as if everyone is against Trump, but launching into an opening statement where he tries to sneak past one falsehood after another also doesn’t seem like a winning strategy.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:44:11 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:42:07 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
This seems like the theme that Trump’s defense team is going to stand on. It also seems like something Trump had a hand in himself.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:40:00 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Blanche is now spending his time attacking Cohen’s credibility, as the prosecution already predicted to the jury.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:37:16 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Blanche is still wallowing in how paying someone not to talk about the sex they had with a guy about to face a national election is no big deal. This, folks, is the definition of a losing argument.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:34:40 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
After explaining that the money to Cohen was “reimbursement” and not a payback scheme, Blanche insists that the whole effort to stifle Daniels wasn’t illegal anyway … which is both beside the point and a bad place for Blanche to spend his time.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:29:58 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Obviously, this trial has a long, long way to go and enough twists should be expected to upset Twizzlers. But Blanche starting out by asking the jury to speculate doesn’t seem like a very strong opening.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:27:54 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
As The Washington Post coverage reports, Blanche gets off to a forceful start.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:26:21 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo ends with a defense of Michael Cohen’s testimony, saying that he expects Trump’s team to spend a lot of time trying to undercut Cohen because he’s so damaging to them.
Todd Blanche stands up, Trump’s defense is underway.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:22:33 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Words are important, and how this is being phrased to the jury is a big part of keeping the power of the opening statement alive in these apparently dry paperwork charges.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:20:26 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
In a nearby courtroom, it sounds as if Trump’s attorneys and the state may have reached an agreement on most aspects of Trump’s bond in the civil fraud case. More details when everyone returns in about 20 minutes.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:18:14 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo is now on to how the scheme included the paperwork issues that resulted in this case. Each of those 34 charges of financial misreporting would look trivial hanging in space, but at this point the prosecution has done a good job of showing how these charges attach to that big, repeating scheme by which Trump was protected from his actions and hid information from voters.
There’s no doubt this part of the story is less interesting, but it’s a necessary step. Once again, what Colangelo is doing fits directly with the instructions Merchan gave to the jury this morning. He’s describing how the charges address not just the crime, but the evidence.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:13:02 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Pair this line with Colangelo’s opening three sentences that described the case. Together, this is a fantastic job of framing and setting the scope of the issues.
Every pundit who spent the last six months dismissing this case as nothing, while insisting we needed to get to Florida or Washington for a “serious” case, should be made to eat their press pass. With a side order of crow.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:08:40 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Jonah Bromwich at The New York Times:
It’s remarkable how the Times is marveling over the way reporters tiptoed around this story. It’s “striking” for them to hear the story without the bumpers they’ve put around it all this time.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:04:22 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo is now reading quotes from the “Access Hollywood” transcript. While this goes to the attitude behind the string of Trump scandals, it’s no less ugly now than it was in 2016.
That people were willing to look past this or dismiss it as “locker room talk” is an indictment of the nation.
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UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:01:15 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
If, as expected, Pecker is the first witness to be seated, this is the story he’s going to be asked about: 1-2-3 scandals for Trump, with that final scandal resulting in the coverup that’s the basis of this case.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:58:03 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The basic setup for Cohen and Pecker to tag-team Trump’s constant stream of scandal.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:54:05 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo intends to deal with three incidents involving Trump and the National Enquirer, including how doorman Dino Sajudin was paid $30,000 to shut up about a claim that Trump had a secret child out of wedlock.
That story was, according to Colangelo, the first time that Enquirer publisher David Pecker paid for a story without bothering to investigate first.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:50:42 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Jurors will hear recordings about the supression of McDougal’s story—recordings that presumably include Trump’s voice instructing Cohen to shut this thing down.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:48:09 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo moves into the Karen McDougal story. McDougal is expected to testify, along with Daniels, and her story goes a long way in showing that Trump had a pattern of behavior both in cheating on Melania and on how he covered up his affairs.
Colangelo telling jurors to expect a lot of evidence in terms of phone records and text messages showing how “desperate” Trump was to bury this story.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:43:14 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:39:01 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
And in case anyone still had any doubt, this is not a “hush money” case involving minor errors with accounting in a private affair. This is an election interference case over the highest possible stakes.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:36:56 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo moving quickly through the basics of that scheme, but since the prosecution has announced they will take 45 minutes, expect more than just this bare skeleton of events.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:34:40 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo reportedly has little criminal trial experience. But he does have experience with Trump.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:33:21 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
And here we go with opening statements. Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo is now addressing the jury.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:31:43 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan announces that the case will continue tomorrow at 11 AM ET—after the hearing on whether Trump should be held in contempt over violations of the gag order, which begins at 9:30 AM ET.
So testimony is likely to continue on Tuesday.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:29:59 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Meanwhile, in that other nearby courtroom …
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:23:33 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
According to Kate Chritobek at The New York Times, Trump’s sleeping sickness may be spreading.
The jury is reportedly paying rapt attention to Merchan. The defense may be sleepy, but the jury appears to be highly engaged.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:20:59 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan is still walking the jurors through the basics of criminal proceedings and their role in the process. There doesn’t seem to be anything extraordinary in these instructions so far, or anything specific to this case.
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UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:18:31 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
As several folks have noted in the comments, Trump’s other New York trial today is to determine whether his bond is sufficient in the civil fraud trial for overvaluing his property—not either of the E. Jean Carroll cases, as I incorrectly stated earlier.
Later today, witness statements in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case should be made public.
Coming on Thursday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Trump’s claims of “absolute immunity.”
It’s a busy week for Trump’s legal team.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:13:26 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Several reports that while Merchan was talking to the jurors, Trump was looking at … space. His whole attitude toward the jury has been one of near contempt.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:11:29 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Some valuable and historic artifacts are about to be created.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:10:15 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan still moving through the standard elements of a criminal trial: what it means when something is entered into evidence; why something may be marked as an “exhibit”; aTnd that the defendant is considered innocent unless proven guilty.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:06:07 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan provides brief instructions to the jury, informing them that the prosecution is required to deliver an opening statement describing the case, but the defendant is not required to make an opening statement. The burden of proof lies with the prosecution.
There’s nothing here that hasn’t been said before, but somehow this is suddenly feeling much more “real” than Trump’s other cases.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:03:19 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
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UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:02:29 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The New York Times’ coverage reports that jurors have now entered the jury box.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:00:34 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
These are all reasons why Trump’s attorneys should shackle him to his chair and hope he sleeps through the whole trial.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:58:21 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan continues to describe the evidence he will allow to be used to confront Trump during his testimony. So: original E. Jean Carroll case; defamation case; Trump Foundation case; Trump’s civil trial over improperly valuing properties; and the transcript (though not tape) of the “Access Hollywood” incident are all in.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:52:26 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
This is something the prosecution had been seeking, and it looks like they’re going to get it.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:49:32 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:47:26 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
A juror reportedly expressed concern over the media attention, but will (for now, at least) remain on the panel.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:46:05 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Reminder that today is scheduled to be only a half day in court. So proceedings will end at 12:30 ET unless something changes.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:45:08 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Before heading inside, Trump paused to complain about another court proceeding that’s taking place today—the hearing over his bond in the E. Jean Carroll case.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:42:46 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Trial has taken an early break because one of the jurors reportedly has a medical issue. Attorneys have joined Merchan in chambers to discuss the issue.
Unclear at the moment which juror was involved, but replacing a juror on Day 1 would not be a great sign for a trial in which all of the jurors can be expected to experience high levels of stress and concern over their safety.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:39:42 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Defense reports they expect to take only about 25 minutes.
If both sides hold to that schedule, we may well see the first witness today.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:36:15 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The trial is underway. The prosecution has advised that their opening will take around 45 minutes.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:35:11 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Trump is starting the morning by moaning that more civil disturbances aren’t focused on him.
There are reportedly a group of anti-Trump protesters outside the courthouse chanting about how no one is above the law. That should make Trump feel better— at least they’re thinking of him.
The trial will take a different direction on Tuesday morning, when Judge Juan Merchan will hear arguments over whether Trump violated the gag order with his social media posts. Court will be out for the remainder of the week and resume the following Monday.
The prosecution will be up first and is expected to describe how Trump orchestrated a scheme to suppress stories involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels just weeks before the 2016 election, at a time when the release of the “Access Hollywood” recording had already damaged his campaign.
Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, and the prosecution is expected argue that Trump illegally covered up a scandal that could have altered the outcome of the 2016 election.
Trump’s defense team is likely to focus on Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, painting him as the real source of any illegal acts. Trump’s attorneys may also follow the tactic Trump has taken in social media by describing the entire case as politically motivated.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:44:02 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Thanks for hanging in there through the first morning of testimony in Trump’s first criminal trial. As noted below, the prosecution intends to show that Trump had a pattern of not just promiscuity, but ignoring the law in handling his business transactions. In 2016, both of those things came together in a scheme to conceal Trump’s scandals by falsely reporting a series of monetary transactions. That scheme was directly related to protecting Trump’s position in the polls and may have been critical in determining the outcome of the election.
Trump’s defense will paint the catch-and-kill scheme as something that a lot of wealthy celebrities have in place to deal with those who try to extort them for cash. They’ll dismiss most of the prosecution’s case as trying to titillate the jury with scandal while maintaining that there’s no real case, but only some boring paperwork that is being mischaracterized by noted liar Michael Cohen.
And the jury is going to get a helluva ride.
Tune in tomorrow.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:33:37 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
And that’s it. Things are ending early today and tomorrow in recognition of the Passover holiday. But once again, Merchan shows that he wants to squeeze every bit of trial into every moment available.
Now that they’ve actually heard the first moments of testimony and started taking notes, it will be interesting to see if the jurors feel “hooked,” cutting off additional worries about anyone walking away because of media scrutiny. Also, at least in the sources followed today, there was much more care demonstrated in not describing the jurors.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:29:42 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Pecker talking about Howard is as far as things get today. Merchan asks the prosecution to pause so he can issue instructions to the jury before they depart.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:28:17 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Remember Merchan saying that jurors could take notes? Almost every source in the courtroom has mentioned the same thing: Jurors seem to be taking a lot of notes.
As Jonah Bromwich notes at The New York Times, this is going to be an interesting case for jurors, and not just because it involves Trump. They are getting a big behind-the-scenes look at the world of celebrity and scandal that’s usually only encountered when reading the headlines.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:25:30 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:24:33 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Just 10 minutes left to the scheduled end of day, but Pecker is still talking.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:23:10 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Keeping things moving seems to be Judge Merchan’s central theme, and we are moving directly into testimony.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:21:50 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 4:11:54 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
From what we heard this morning, it seems like the two cases are going to work out this way:
Prosecution will walk through Trump’s catch-and-kill scandal scheme, showing the roles that Cohen and Pecker played. That means revisiting three cases:
- The Dino the doorman case involving a $30,000 payment to bury a story about Trump having a secret child.
- The Karen McDougal case, where a nude model involved in an affair with Trump got $150,000 to shelve a proposed book.
- The Stormy Daniels case, whose $130,000 payoff is the direct focus of the illegal accounting behind this trial.
In addition, the jury will hear about other cases, including the Trump Foundation and civil fraud trial, showing Trump’s frequent disregard for proper handling of his business dealings. And they’ll get a refresher on Trump’s sexual assault trial against E. Jean Carroll and the “Access Hollywood” incident to cover Trump’s abusive, dismissive attitude toward women as well as his own sense of privilege. The Carroll defamation case may also play a role when it comes to what’s likely to be the defense’s biggest line of attack: going after Cohen.
Defense will more or less concede that the catch-and-kill scheme existed, but will paint it as nothing special. They’ll present McDougal and Daniels as people who attempted to extort Trump and were paid a small amount to go away. Instead of defending this part of the story, defense will focus on undercutting Cohen and focusing on the supposed crimes behind the 34 felony counts. In other words, they’ll accuse the prosecution of trying to distract the jury with scandal while saying that no actual crime occurred.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:54:28 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Blanche wraps up his opening with another round of attacks on Cohen and telling the jurors to listen to the evidence and use “their common sense.”
“We’re New Yorkers,” says Blanche. “That’s why we’re here.”
With that, court goes into a 10-minute break. Considering that there will be only a half hour left on the day when things resume, it’s unclear if we’ll actually see David Pecker take the stand.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:51:16 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Trump is having a better day in Engoron’s court.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:49:55 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Blanche insists that Stormy Daniels owes Trump $600,000 for violating her NDA and “knows nothing about the charges here.”
Maybe Blanche is trying to gain jury sympathy by making it seem as if everyone is against Trump, but launching into an opening statement where he tries to sneak past one falsehood after another also doesn’t seem like a winning strategy.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:44:11 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:42:07 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
This seems like the theme that Trump’s defense team is going to stand on. It also seems like something Trump had a hand in himself.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:40:00 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Blanche is now spending his time attacking Cohen’s credibility, as the prosecution already predicted to the jury.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:37:16 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Blanche is still wallowing in how paying someone not to talk about the sex they had with a guy about to face a national election is no big deal. This, folks, is the definition of a losing argument.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:34:40 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
After explaining that the money to Cohen was “reimbursement” and not a payback scheme, Blanche insists that the whole effort to stifle Daniels wasn’t illegal anyway … which is both beside the point and a bad place for Blanche to spend his time.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:29:58 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Obviously, this trial has a long, long way to go and enough twists should be expected to upset Twizzlers. But Blanche starting out by asking the jury to speculate doesn’t seem like a very strong opening.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:27:54 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
As The Washington Post coverage reports, Blanche gets off to a forceful start.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:26:21 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo ends with a defense of Michael Cohen’s testimony, saying that he expects Trump’s team to spend a lot of time trying to undercut Cohen because he’s so damaging to them.
Todd Blanche stands up, Trump’s defense is underway.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:22:33 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Words are important, and how this is being phrased to the jury is a big part of keeping the power of the opening statement alive in these apparently dry paperwork charges.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:20:26 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
In a nearby courtroom, it sounds as if Trump’s attorneys and the state may have reached an agreement on most aspects of Trump’s bond in the civil fraud case. More details when everyone returns in about 20 minutes.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:18:14 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo is now on to how the scheme included the paperwork issues that resulted in this case. Each of those 34 charges of financial misreporting would look trivial hanging in space, but at this point the prosecution has done a good job of showing how these charges attach to that big, repeating scheme by which Trump was protected from his actions and hid information from voters.
There’s no doubt this part of the story is less interesting, but it’s a necessary step. Once again, what Colangelo is doing fits directly with the instructions Merchan gave to the jury this morning. He’s describing how the charges address not just the crime, but the evidence.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:13:02 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Pair this line with Colangelo’s opening three sentences that described the case. Together, this is a fantastic job of framing and setting the scope of the issues.
Every pundit who spent the last six months dismissing this case as nothing, while insisting we needed to get to Florida or Washington for a “serious” case, should be made to eat their press pass. With a side order of crow.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:08:40 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Jonah Bromwich at The New York Times:
It’s remarkable how the Times is marveling over the way reporters tiptoed around this story. It’s “striking” for them to hear the story without the bumpers they’ve put around it all this time.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:04:22 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo is now reading quotes from the “Access Hollywood” transcript. While this goes to the attitude behind the string of Trump scandals, it’s no less ugly now than it was in 2016.
That people were willing to look past this or dismiss it as “locker room talk” is an indictment of the nation.
Daily Kos is the largest independent, progressive news outlet and activism hub in the country. Can you please support our work with a $5 monthly recurring donation?
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 3:01:15 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
If, as expected, Pecker is the first witness to be seated, this is the story he’s going to be asked about: 1-2-3 scandals for Trump, with that final scandal resulting in the coverup that’s the basis of this case.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:58:03 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The basic setup for Cohen and Pecker to tag-team Trump’s constant stream of scandal.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:54:05 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo intends to deal with three incidents involving Trump and the National Enquirer, including how doorman Dino Sajudin was paid $30,000 to shut up about a claim that Trump had a secret child out of wedlock.
That story was, according to Colangelo, the first time that Enquirer publisher David Pecker paid for a story without bothering to investigate first.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:50:42 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Jurors will hear recordings about the supression of McDougal’s story—recordings that presumably include Trump’s voice instructing Cohen to shut this thing down.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:48:09 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo moves into the Karen McDougal story. McDougal is expected to testify, along with Daniels, and her story goes a long way in showing that Trump had a pattern of behavior both in cheating on Melania and on how he covered up his affairs.
Colangelo telling jurors to expect a lot of evidence in terms of phone records and text messages showing how “desperate” Trump was to bury this story.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:43:14 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:39:01 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
And in case anyone still had any doubt, this is not a “hush money” case involving minor errors with accounting in a private affair. This is an election interference case over the highest possible stakes.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:36:56 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo moving quickly through the basics of that scheme, but since the prosecution has announced they will take 45 minutes, expect more than just this bare skeleton of events.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:34:40 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Colangelo reportedly has little criminal trial experience. But he does have experience with Trump.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:33:21 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
And here we go with opening statements. Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo is now addressing the jury.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:31:43 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan announces that the case will continue tomorrow at 11 AM ET—after the hearing on whether Trump should be held in contempt over violations of the gag order, which begins at 9:30 AM ET.
So testimony is likely to continue on Tuesday.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:29:59 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Meanwhile, in that other nearby courtroom …
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:23:33 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
According to Kate Chritobek at The New York Times, Trump’s sleeping sickness may be spreading.
The jury is reportedly paying rapt attention to Merchan. The defense may be sleepy, but the jury appears to be highly engaged.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:20:59 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan is still walking the jurors through the basics of criminal proceedings and their role in the process. There doesn’t seem to be anything extraordinary in these instructions so far, or anything specific to this case.
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UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:18:31 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
As several folks have noted in the comments, Trump’s other New York trial today is to determine whether his bond is sufficient in the civil fraud trial for overvaluing his property—not either of the E. Jean Carroll cases, as I incorrectly stated earlier.
Later today, witness statements in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case should be made public.
Coming on Thursday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Trump’s claims of “absolute immunity.”
It’s a busy week for Trump’s legal team.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:13:26 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Several reports that while Merchan was talking to the jurors, Trump was looking at … space. His whole attitude toward the jury has been one of near contempt.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:11:29 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Some valuable and historic artifacts are about to be created.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:10:15 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan still moving through the standard elements of a criminal trial: what it means when something is entered into evidence; why something may be marked as an “exhibit”; aTnd that the defendant is considered innocent unless proven guilty.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:06:07 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan provides brief instructions to the jury, informing them that the prosecution is required to deliver an opening statement describing the case, but the defendant is not required to make an opening statement. The burden of proof lies with the prosecution.
There’s nothing here that hasn’t been said before, but somehow this is suddenly feeling much more “real” than Trump’s other cases.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:03:19 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
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UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:02:29 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The New York Times’ coverage reports that jurors have now entered the jury box.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 2:00:34 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
These are all reasons why Trump’s attorneys should shackle him to his chair and hope he sleeps through the whole trial.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:58:21 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Merchan continues to describe the evidence he will allow to be used to confront Trump during his testimony. So: original E. Jean Carroll case; defamation case; Trump Foundation case; Trump’s civil trial over improperly valuing properties; and the transcript (though not tape) of the “Access Hollywood” incident are all in.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:52:26 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
This is something the prosecution had been seeking, and it looks like they’re going to get it.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:49:32 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:47:26 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
A juror reportedly expressed concern over the media attention, but will (for now, at least) remain on the panel.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:46:05 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Reminder that today is scheduled to be only a half day in court. So proceedings will end at 12:30 ET unless something changes.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:45:08 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Before heading inside, Trump paused to complain about another court proceeding that’s taking place today—the hearing over his bond in the E. Jean Carroll case.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:42:46 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Trial has taken an early break because one of the jurors reportedly has a medical issue. Attorneys have joined Merchan in chambers to discuss the issue.
Unclear at the moment which juror was involved, but replacing a juror on Day 1 would not be a great sign for a trial in which all of the jurors can be expected to experience high levels of stress and concern over their safety.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:39:42 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Defense reports they expect to take only about 25 minutes.
If both sides hold to that schedule, we may well see the first witness today.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:36:15 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The trial is underway. The prosecution has advised that their opening will take around 45 minutes.
UPDATE: Monday, Apr 22, 2024 · 1:35:11 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Trump is starting the morning by moaning that more civil disturbances aren’t focused on him.
There are reportedly a group of anti-Trump protesters outside the courthouse chanting about how no one is above the law. That should make Trump feel better— at least they’re thinking of him.
The trial will take a different direction on Tuesday morning, when Judge Juan Merchan will hear arguments over whether Trump violated the gag order with his social media posts. Court will be out for the remainder of the week and resume the following Monday.