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NEW YORK. Donald Trump laughed, gave a thumbs up – and appeared to be dozing off.
At the same time, the lawyers argued over a Playboy model.
Aftonbladet is present during the historic trial in New York – the first ever criminal case against an American ex-president.
Day one was loaded with drama.
At 9:30 a.m. local time, Trump stopped in the hallway outside the courtroom to speak to a group of reporters.
– This is an attack on America, therefore I am proud to be here, said the 77-year-old Republican.
He then proceeded through the doors, to the chair at the front of the courtroom on the 15th floor of the lower Manhattan courthouse. A position he will occupy four days a week for the next two months.
Behind him were nine almost empty rows of benches.
No videos or audio recordings are allowed inside the courtroom, but Aftonbladet, along with about a hundred other reporters, follows Trump’s every move on television monitors in an adjacent room.
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full screen Donald Trump in his seat in court. He will be sitting here many times over the next two months. Photo: Jabin Botsford / AP
Historic moment
The lawsuit in court could be taken on Monday. Silence. Secret service. Whispers.
Trump frowned and looked visibly annoyed at first. Bitten and stern, with slumping shoulders.
Still photographers were allowed to capture the moment for one minute.
– Good morning, Mr. Trump, said the judge.
It was the start of a historic moment in the United States: the first time a former US president has been tried in a criminal case.
Moreover, in the middle of a fiery election campaign.
It was a day his lawyers have tried to postpone at all costs – without success.
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full screenDonald Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche. Photo: Bryan Woolston/AP
Although the case revolves around finances, the ingredients are taken from a Hollywood reel:
square1 A porn star.
square1 Secret payments.
square1 A president.
square1 Allegations of sex affairs.
The lawsuit against Trump is all about falsified accounting records – to hide “hush money” paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair to mislead voters in 2016.
Trump faces up to four years in prison on 34 charges.
He denies the allegations.
On Monday, the process to select 12 jurors began, a process that could take at least a week.
During the negotiations, Trump must be in the courtroom in New York four days a week – while campaigning.
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fullscreenStormy Daniels. One of the trial’s main characters. Photo: Markus Schreiber / AP
Hours of war of words
The first day of the trial began with Trump’s lawyers and the prosecution’s war of words – for hours.
Prosecutors requested, among other things, that the famous Access Hollywood recording, in which Trump brags about grabbing women by the vagina, “grab ’em by the pussy”, should be included as evidence.
They argued that the tape shows the motive behind paying Stormy Daniels — just days before the 2016 election. They say Trump’s campaign team wanted to prevent the scandal from affecting female voters.
The lawyers protested.
The judge announced that Trump’s words from the recording may be presented in text to the jury – but that the video will not be played.
The two sides then argued over whether evidence from Playboy model Karen McDougal should be included. McDougal, like Stormy Daniels, was paid to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.
“The only reason to include this is to humiliate Mr. Trump,” said the former president’s lawyer, Todd Blanche.
The judge allowed testimony from McDougal, but stopped prosecutors from mentioning sensitive information that Trump’s wife Melania was pregnant with their son during the alleged affair.
Gave the thumbs up
While the words of sex affairs and sexual abuse flew in the courtroom, Trump sat frozen in a stone face.
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full screenKaren McDougal was paid $150,000 to keep quiet about her affair with Trump. She has said that they met at least a dozen times in 2006 and 2007. Photo: Ibl
He sent notes and occasionally whispered to his lawyer Blanche.
He leaned forward and squinted at a screen in front of him.
During the breaks, he received questions from reporters about how he thinks the trial is going. The answer was a thumbs up.
During the afternoon, the judge read out a long list of names from Trump’s inner circle who will testify in the coming weeks. Among others some of his children, the lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and former advisor Steve Bannon.
But the prosecutors are mainly expected to rely on the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer”. He was the one who put out the money for Stormy Daniels, and was later repaid.
Cohen has since become one of Trump’s biggest critics.
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full screenTrump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen. Photo: Mary Altaffer / AP
Seemed to be dozing off
When prosecutors read out Trump’s tweets that said “if you want a good lawyer, don’t hire Michael Cohen,” the only time Trump laughs lightly in court occurs.
On several occasions, Trump appeared to fall asleep. His eyes closed and his head and jaw seem to drop.
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full screenTrump went through the first day of the trial with a mostly grim look. Sometimes the 77-year-old seemed to doze off. Photo: Jeenah Moon/AP
Later in the afternoon, the jury trial began where the New Yorkers who were summoned had to answer a series of questions about everything from media consumption to how they view Donald Trump.
– I feel that no one is above the law, whether it is a former president, a sitting president or a caretaker, said one of the possible jurors.
In the first round, more than half, 50 out of 96, admitted that they would not succeed in being impartial in the high-profile case. They then had to leave the courtroom. Immediately.
The jury trial is expected to last for weeks because it is difficult to select a jury that does not already have a strong opinion about Trump.
The entire trial is expected to last two months, until mid-June.
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Trump gave the thumbs up both in the courtroom and on the way in after a break.
1 / 2Photo: Angela Weiss / AP