The first criminal trial of a former president begins: How did Trump react? | Mike Kelly

NEW YORK — The wheels of justice finally began to turn on Monday in the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.

But as with almost everything else in the legal and political world of Donald Trump — the former president-turned-criminal defendant — this turning of justice wheels on the 15^th floor of the New York State Supreme Court building in lower Manhattan was complicated.

It was also slow — very slow.

And for Trump, it was unusually loud — then suddenly quiet.

As he walked to the courtroom, Trump stopped and told a gaggle of reporters that “nothing like this has ever happened before,” adding that “it’s an assault on America, an assault on our country, a country that’s failing.”

The statement was standard for Trump and echoed other brash claims he made in recent months as his legal problems mounted.

Inside the courtroom, however, Trump spoke only three words out loud. He said “yes” three times to a series of questions from Judge Juan Merchan, who reminded Trump that he could assist his lawyers in his defense, but only if he behaved himself.

“If you disrupt the proceedings in any way, the court has the right to exclude you from the courtroom,” Merchan said.

Trump nodded and quietly said, “Yes.”

Merchan later chided Trump’s lawyers after they asked for a delay to assemble evidence.

“Here’s where we stand: You have 24 hours,” a seemingly exasperated Merchan said.

The judge then added that defense attorneys had “been very busy filing motions,” some of which duplicated previous ones and seemed part of what some legal critics say is a delaying tactic by Trump.

“You’ve made decisions on how you’re going to use your time,” Merchan said, cutting off the argument.

For the most part, though, Merchan kept his temper in check, often speaking in a soft voice. Even when he told prosecutors and defense attorneys that they could not photocopy lists of names of jurors, Merchan seemed more a matter-of-fact adviser than a judge.

The loud and quiet episodes on Monday with Trump underscored in some ways how strange the moment has become. At one point, the 77-year-old seemed to nod off, his head sinking forward, then snapping up when his attorney handed him a piece of paper.

As the proceedings were about to end, his defense team asked Merchan to give Trump permission to skip next Thursday's trial session in New York City to attend oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Trump's claim of presidential immunity from charges in his federal trials.

Merchan refused.

"Your client is a criminal defendant," Merchan said, referring to the New York trial. "He’s not required to be in the U.S. Supreme Court. He’s required to be here."

Trump on trial — as he attempts to campaign for a new term

The trial is the first in U.S. history in which a former president has been charged with a crime. And yet, the trial comes at a time when Trump is not only campaigning for the presidency but also claiming he has been unfairly targeted by a government that aims to block him and his supporters from achieving power.

At the same time, this court drama — nicknamed the “hush money” trial — is potentially the most salacious. It may also be the least consequential of the four criminal proceedings that Trump faces, with two others for alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election and one involving his alleged illegal retention of top-secret government documents.

No matter, though. While the other trials — two in federal courts in Washington, D.C., and in Florida, and one in a Georgia state court — have been delayed, the so-called “hush money” trial began Monday with efforts to select a jury in a New York courthouse that is more accustomed to trials involving gruesome murders and wild robberies.

And here is where the wheels of justice seemed stuck in low gear.

Lawyers devoted nearly two hours in the morning to pretrial arguments. The first batch of 92 potential jurors were not brought into the courtroom until 2:36 p.m. Monday And then they were subjected to a nearly 30-minute lecture from Merchan on their duties.

Trump faces 34 felony counts of illegally doctoring his financial records and thereby violating election laws. At issue is an alleged payment of $130,000 that Trump reportedly gave to a former porn star as a way of buying her silence about their alleged extramarital affair in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Paying hush money is not necessarily a felony. Nor is doctoring business records — that’s usually a misdemeanor in New York state.

What propelled this case into felony status is the allegation that Trump’s reported lying on his financial records was done to cover up another crime: the more consequential violation of failing to report the payments on his campaign records.

Trump reportedly paid the $130,000 in hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels in the last weeks of the 2016 campaign to head off a growing storm of allegations that he mistreated women. If convicted, he could be sentenced to four years in prison.

How long could the trial go?

It may take most of the spring for jurors to hear the evidence — and then decide whether it constitutes a crime. On Monday, Merchan told jurors that he expects the trial to last at least six weeks.

But then, the judge noted that he could not predict whether the proceedings might go longer.

In most trials, such an admission by the judge might not mean all that much. Trials tend to run by their own schedules once they start. And, often, surprising bursts of evidence or unexpected turns of testimony can cause delays or call for much more extensive testimony.

With Trump, such unknowns will undoubtedly factor into his other, non-court schedule — that of a presidential candidate. He is expected to sit in court all day, then campaign at night — a grueling schedule by any measure.

In the hours leading up to Monday’s court appearance, Trump continued his equally grueling and occasionally vexing strategy of mixing politics with his legal problems.

In several social media postings, he repeated his claim that he is the victim of a “witch hunt,” claiming without any evidence that the four criminal cases against him are the work of President Joe Biden.

Just after midnight, as police began to assemble in lower Manhattan to surround the New York State Supreme Court Building with numerous layers of security, Trump released what he called a “Biden Trial Fact Sheet.”

Among other claims, he referred to one of the lead prosecution witnesses, Michael Cohen, as a “notorious liar.”

Such a statement might appear to violate a special order from Merchan barring Trump from attacking potential witnesses.

On Monday, that question was not addressed in pretrial discussions by prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Instead, prosecutors and defense attorneys sparred over a series of other Trump postings on his Truth Social messaging platform. In one post, Trump referred to Cohen as a “serial perjurer.” In another, he called Cohen and his alleged former lover in the hush money case “sleazebags.”

Prosecutor Christopher Conroy asked Merchan to impose a $1,000 fine on each of what he called three violations by Trump of the gag order.

“It is important for the court to remind Mr. Trump that he is a criminal defendant,” Conroy said, “and like all criminal defendants, he is subject to court supervision.”

“The defendant,” Conroy added, “has demonstrated his willingness to flout the order.”

Trump’s lead defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, countered, saying the former president was merely defending himself.

“It’s not as if President Trump is going out and targeting individuals,” Blanche said. “He’s responding to statements by these witnesses.”

Like so many others in Trump’s legal wrangles, the moment captured the yin-and-yang quality of how Trump’s own message can be interpreted. Indeed, even the way each side addressed Trump was a sign of how divided America has become.

Prosecutors referred to Trump as “Mister Trump.” Defense attorneys repeatedly — and notably — called him “President Trump” when they addressed Merchan.

What happened outside the courtroom?

Outside, in a park across the street from the courthouse, Trump’s supporters and critics lobbed similar dissonant messages about him.

A construction supervisor in a black T-shirt from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, who declined to give his real name and instead said he went by the name of the American Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, said he was there to support Trump.

“I’m here to be supportive of President Trump and protest this farce,” he said. “It’s like a banana republic.”

Nearby, a woman, who also declined to give her name, displayed a placard with a simple but complicated message: “Trump is the definition of depravity.”

Upstairs, in the courtroom on the 15th floor, prospective jurors seated in the rear benches craned their necks to gaze at Trump, who was seated at a table near the front of the room.

Merchan called several groups forward. He took a few minutes to ask them to fill out a special court query of 42 questions that he had drawn up with prosecutors and defense attorneys.

In itself, the questionnaire was unusual. But like so much else on Monday, it was part of the strangeness at hand.

As the hours rolled on, finally a small flicker of ordinary humanity seemed to emerge.

After jurors filled out the questionnaire, Merchan asked several to go through their answers.

What emerged was a mix of classic New Yorkers. A few worked in finance. One worked at Bloomingdale's. Another said he enjoyed walking his dog. Yet another said she liked to “go to clubs” in her free time.

The admission brought out a much-needed response from onlookers.

Laughter.

Mike Kelly is an award-winning columnist for NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, as well as the author of three critically acclaimed nonfiction books and a podcast and documentary film producer. To get unlimited access to his insightful thoughts on how we live life in the Northeast, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kellym@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Donald Trump hush money trial begins: How did he react