Trump's criminal trial in New York - here's what you need to know
Expect weeks of court proceedings in Manhattan
Today: Monday, April 15, 2024 (Tax Day)
President Trump faced the first day of a criminal trial in Manhattan on Monday, where jury selection began, and presiding Judge Juan Merchan set down hardline rules about the president’s required attendance.
What is the case about?
The case revolves around alleged “hush money” payments that Trump paid ex-lawyer (and convicted felon) Michael Cohen, who then supposedly reimbursed Stormy Daniels, a porn actress, in exchange for her silence during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Daniels actually signed a letter in 2018 that stated that she never had an affair with Trump, but later denied her own denial. Confusing, indeed.
Michael Cohen, who was disbarred as an attorney in New York and spent time in prison, is also an admitted liar, and yet he will be the “star witness” of the criminal trial that is expected to last anywhere from six to eight weeks.
How does this affect Trump’s 2024 campaign?
On Monday, the judge stated that if Trump missed just one day of the trial, he would face arrest. Such a stringent edict seems over-the-top, considering the case itself is hinged upon a resurrected misdemeanor that was long past the statute of limitations. It’s not as if Trump is a violent offender, but this doesn’t seem to matter to Judge Merchan.
The trial is expected to have proceedings four days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) and last for up to two months. The president said after the close of the proceedings that he may even be forced to miss the high school graduation of his own son, Barron Trump, in May.
The president’s campaign schedule will certainly be affected by the strict trial guidelines. According to a report from Politico, his campaign plans to focus on utilizing his free Wednesdays and weekends to campaign for reelection.
What are the charges against Trump?
The case has charged Trump with an astronomical 34 felony counts related to the alleged falsification of business records linked to the so-called “hush money” payments made to Stormy Daniels.
Trump has emphatically denied having had an affair with Stormy Daniels, often referring to her, somewhat comically, as “Horseface.”
Constitutional law scholar and attorney Jonathan Turley explains the overreaching weaponization of the justice system in this excellent excerpt from a recent article on his website:
“Lawyers have been scouring the civil and criminal codes for any basis to sue or prosecute Trump before the upcoming 2024 election. This week will highlight the damage done to New York’s legal system because of this unhinged crusade. They’ve charged him with everything short of ripping a label off a mattress.
Just a few weeks ago, another judge imposed a roughly half-billion dollar penalty in a case without a single victim who lost a single cent on loans with Trump. (Indeed, bank officials testified they wanted more business with the Trump organization).
Now Bragg is bringing a case that has taken years to develop and millions of dollars in litigation costs for all parties. That is all over a crime from before the 2016 election that is a misdemeanor under state law that had already expired under the statute of limitations.
Like his predecessor, Bragg previously scoffed at the case. However, two prosecutors, Carey R. Dunne and Mark F. Pomerantz, then resigned and started a public pressure campaign to get New Yorkers to demand prosecution.
Pomerantz shocked many of us by publishing a book on the case against Trump — who was still under investigation and not charged, let alone convicted, of any crime. He did so despite objections from his former colleague that such a book was grossly improper.
Nevertheless, it worked. Bragg brought a Rube Goldberg case that is so convoluted and counterintuitive that even liberal legal analysts criticized it.”
Will yet another trial have a negative effect on Trump’s campaign?
It seems highly unlikely. Trump’s poll numbers have increased since 2023. His popularity among Republican voters has swelled to new heights, which was a big reason why he so easily swept to victory in the GOP presidential primary election.
Heading into the general election, a potential conviction for Trump in this case seems unlikely to affect his image among the public – he has already been ruled against by two different New York courts so far.
The difference, of course, with this criminal trial, is that these potential felony convictions can result in prison time.
Trump wraps up the first day of the trial
On Truth Social, Trump wrote:
“This Fake Case is solely meant to attack Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME, who is seriously leading him in the Polls, for purposes of Election Interference. The Judge, Juan Merchan, is preventing me from proudly attending my son’s Graduation. Seems very unfair, doesn’t it? But this whole event is unfair. Every one of the many Fake Cases that are perpetuated by the White House in order to help the Worst President in History, by far, get Re-Elected, are UNJUST SCAMS. We won’t let that happen, but we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”