Former President Donald Trump will make history on Monday by becoming the first sitting and former president in U.S. history to go on trial.
Trump’s hush money trial, which begins in a New York City courtroom, will have an immediate impact on his rematch with President Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
The former president is on trial on 34 state felonies for allegedly falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair with an adult film actress during the 2016 election. has been accused.
President Trump has repeatedly denied not only allegations of sexual contact with Daniels but also falsification of business records.
Court denies Trump’s bid to delay start of Hash Money trial
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump attends a pretrial hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court on February 15, 2024 in New York City. Trump was indicted last year on 34 counts of falsifying business records, which prosecutors say was intended to cover up a potential sex scandal before and after the 2016 presidential election. (Photo by: Jefferson Siegel Pool/Getty Images)
The former president’s legal team has made repeated attempts to further delay or postpone the trial, but they have failed.
The unprecedented trial marks the first trial of four criminal cases filed by President Trump, two of them for allegedly trying to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Biden. The other case involves suspicions of mishandling confidential documents. And it may ultimately be the only case to be decided before the November election.
Trump trial: Here’s the position on each criminal case against the former president
Here are five important questions about how this case will affect the presidential campaign.
How long will the trial take? Will President Trump be required to attend every day?
The trial is expected to last approximately six to eight weeks, with jury selection beginning Monday. Hearings are scheduled to be held every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with Wednesdays being closed.
The judge in the case, Juan Melchán, suggested the trial could be postponed because of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins on the evening of April 22.
New York state law requires Mr. Trump to be present in court throughout the trial. But Marchan could give the former president some leeway, allowing Trump to attend court hearings in other cases during the hush-money trial.
Will the trial be televised?
There will be plenty of cameras at Trump’s trial, but they won’t be inside the courtroom.
The trial is not expected to be televised because New York state has some of the strictest laws in the country, including bans on cameras in courtrooms and live streaming of audio and video of trials.
Stills from the courtroom, however, are likely to be allowed. When Trump was arraigned last year, Marchan allowed a still photographer to take photos before the actual arraignment. He also authorized the installation of television cameras in the courthouse hallways.
How much area does it cover?
a lot!
President Trump is expected to continue his practice of attracting media attention both on cable news and online by holding impromptu press conferences as he enters and leaves the courtroom.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media in the hallway outside a Manhattan courthouse on Monday, March 25, 2024, in New York. (Brendan McDiarmid/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Trump can always control the messaging environment if he wants to,” longtime Republican strategist Dave Carney told Fox News. “I’ve never seen anything like this where one guy – no matter what he says – gets full coverage. This is a phenomenon. Whether it’s on social media, whether it’s on cable TV, and even more… He just dominates the news, whether it’s on TV or not.”
“There will be a lot of coverage of the president’s trial,” said Carney, a veteran of numerous presidential campaigns. “In some cases, there will be more reporters covering his stakeout than covering the president. I think so.”
During the Republican presidential primaries, Trump used the multiple criminal and civil lawsuits he faces to paint himself as a victim, boosting support among Republican voters and boosting fundraising.
President Trump’s mugshot, taken last August in a separate case in which he was charged with conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election loss, helped the former president raise millions of dollars and quickly attracted a large number of MAGA fans. It became an iconic image for its supporters.
On August 24, 2023, after being indicted on extortion and related charges, former President Donald Trump surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, where his mugshot was taken. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
When will President Trump campaign?
President Trump has repeatedly called the lawsuit “election interference.”
“I don’t understand why a trial would be held in the middle of an election,” he recently told reporters in New York City. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair. It’s totally unfair.”
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But political associates of the former president told Fox News that Trump is planning to make the most of Wednesdays, when the court is not in session, as well as weekends, when he typically holds rallies, fundraisers and other campaign events. It is said that a schedule is being planned that includes the use of the facility. .
Regardless of the outcome, Trump campaign senior adviser Chris Lacivita recently predicted, “We have the message, the strategy, and the money to lead President Trump to victory on November 5th.”
How will the Biden camp react?
The president has largely avoided commenting directly on Trump’s criminal case. The same goes for Trump’s re-election campaign team, who continue to insist that the lawsuit against him is politically motivated, so they don’t want to give Trump ammunition.
President Joe Biden speaks at the Washoe Democratic Party office on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Reno, Nevada. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin) (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
Ammar Moussa, the Biden campaign’s director of rapid response, recently said, “We want Donald Trump to focus on his own issues. Our campaign is focused on the American people, and this November, we want Donald Trump to focus on his own issues. We’re getting their votes.”
But don’t be surprised if Biden’s allies and surrogates launch sharper attacks as the trial begins.
Trump will be in court this week, but from Tuesday through Thursday he is scheduled to campaign in Pennsylvania, one of the six battleground states where Biden narrowly won the White House in 2020. .
The swing in the Keystone State is seen as a counterpoint to Mr. Trump’s court case, as Mr. Biden is expected to focus on his plans to raise taxes on America’s wealthy.
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