‘This case is nonsense’: Donald Trump’s rant as historic trial begins

Mr Trump, who is all but certain to face Joe Biden at the ballot box in November, is the first US President to ever face a criminal trial.

The 77-year-old is accused of falsifying business records in a scheme to cover up an alleged extramarital sexual encounter with adult film actor Stormy Daniels to shield his 2016 election campaign from a last-minute upheaval.

Due to it being a criminal trial, Mr Trump will have to attend every day the court is in session.

As he walked into the Manhattan courtroom, the Republican candidate railed at the proceedings and said the court case was “nonsense” and an “outrage”.

“This is an assault on America, nothing like this has ever happened before, there’s never been anything like it,”

“Every legal scholar said this case is nonsense, it should have never been brought.”

Referring to himself in the third person, he then claimed that even “people that don’t necessarily like Donald Trump,” have said that it was an “outrage,” the case was taking place.

“This is political persecution, this is a persecution like never before, nobody has ever seen anything like it”.

The prosecution would disagree and have insisted Mr Trump has a case to answer, a case that has nothing to do with the upcoming election.

As pro- and anti- Trump protesters chanted outside, Mr Trump entered the courthouse in Lower Manhattan on Monday morning, US time.

When Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office is prosecuting the case, walked into the court, he glanced briefly at Mr Trump. But the former President did not do the same, staring starlight ahead, the New York Post reported.

“Good morning Mr Trump,” Judge Juan Merchan said to the defendant in the courtroom, where the Republican sat with hunched shoulders and a stern expression.

The first order of business is jury selection but given the notoriety of the case it could take as much as two weeks for defence lawyers and prosecutors to agree on the panel of 12 jurors.

The so-called hush money affair is one of four criminal cases hanging over Mr Trump, including historic prosecutions against the Republican’s alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 election and prevent the winner, Joe Biden, from taking office.

If convicted in the hush money case, Mr Trump would potentially face years in prison, but legal observers consider this unlikely.

Even so, the prospect of Mr Trump becoming a convicted felon throws an unprecedented wildcard into an already unpredictable November 5 election, where he wants to defeat Mr Biden and retake the White House.

Attempting to keep up his trademark bravado, Mr Trump said last week that he will take the stand in the trial — a highly unusual and often risky move for defendants.

Lawyer and porn star

For jury selection, a pool of ordinary citizens convened by Merchan must answer a questionnaire including checks on whether they have been members of far-right groups.

The actual charges revolve around highly technical finance laws. Trump is accused of illegally covering up remittances to his longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who was using the funds to pay Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about the alleged sexual encounter in the final weeks of the 2016 election campaign.

A New York grand jury indicted Mr Trump in March 2023 over the payments made to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, with the ex-president charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records.

He denies the charges and says the encounter with Ms Clifford and another with a Playboy nude model, whose story he also allegedly covered up, did not happen.

Mr Trump also claims he will not get a fair trial in heavily Democratic New York. Even if convicted, he would be able to appeal and would not be barred from continuing to run, or even being elected president on November 5.

Four criminal cases

Mr Trump’s other three criminal cases — centred on his alleged hoarding of top-secret documents in Florida after he left the White House and his involvement in attempts to overturn the 2020 election — all face multiple delays.

In the New York case, Mr Trump has repeatedly failed to secure meaningful delays, and Merchan has signalled he will run the trial with a firm hand.

Last week, the judge extended an existing gag order, in place to prevent Trump from attacking those involved in the trial, widening it to cover family members of the judge and Manhattan District Attorney Mr Bragg.

The expansion of the order came after Mr Trump lashed out at Judge Merchan and his daughter in a series of posts on Truth Social