By Marisa Laudadio
9:00am PDT, Apr 21, 2024
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Donald Trump's hush-money trial in New York criminal court kicked off on April 15 with jury selection as the first order of business. Twelve jurors and six alternates had been selected by the fourth day of the trial on April 19.
This is the first of the former POTUS's criminal cases to go to trial and it's historic: He's the first former U.S. president to be criminally prosecuted — a seismic moment for the United States as the presumptive Republican nominee campaigns to retake the White House.
Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up what prosecutors allege were reimbursements for a $130,000 hush-money payment that his now-former lawyer Michael Cohen forked over to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Join us as we take a look at photos of Trump in court for the trial — and what happened outside the courtroom, starting with this image from the day 4…
Fire extinguishers, a backpack and charred material were left behind on a walkway across from Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City after a man set himself on fire after throwing a pile of flyers into the air during Donald Trump's trial on April 19, 2024. First responders rushed to extinguish the flames but after being taken to the Cornell Burn Center in critical condition, the man — identified as 37-year-old Max Azzarello — died from his injuries, authorities confirmed.
The man had been carrying two signs — one advertising a Substack and another that read, "Trump is with Biden and they're about to fascist coup us."
Keep reading for photos from Trump's criminal hush-money trial…
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Donald Trump sat between his lawyers on the third day of his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 18, 2024. The trial resumed on April 18 after a day off, with Judge Juan Merchan seeking to continue and complete jury selection.
On day 3 before jury selection continued, prosecutors argued that Trump had violated a gag order — which bars him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, jurors and court staff plus their relatives and relatives of the judge — another seven times (on top of a previous three alleged offenses) in several social media posts. They asked Judge Juan Merchan to hold the former president in contempt. The judge said he will decide the request, along with the previous three, on April 23.
"It's ridiculous," said Christopher Conroy, a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office, as reported by The New York Times. "It has to stop."
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Donald Trump awaited the start of proceedings on the second day of jury selection at Manhattan criminal court in New York City on April 16, 2024.
Judge Juan Merchan seated seven jurors on the second day of the trial as prosecutors and defense attorneys continued to question the jury pool and issue challenges. Twelve jurors will be eventually make the cut, with six alternates also seated as backups.
As Trump headed into the courtroom on day 2, reporters monitoring his hallway movements heard him shout what The New York Times' live blog reported will likely be the crux of his defense: "An accountant I didn't know marked it down as a legal expense. That's exactly what it was."
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Donald Trump sits at the defendant's table in the courtroom at Manhattan criminal court in New York City on April 16, 2024, with his lawyers as jury selection continued for a second day.
Though seven jurors were ultimately seated during the day's proceedings, many others were dismissed as lawyers dug into old social media posts some had made that appeared critical of Trump.
Trump and the judge also made headlines when
Judge Juan Merchan also made headlines when he admonished Trump for his behavior — the former president was speaking loudly and gesturing toward a prospective juror as the person was being questioned about her Facebook posts. "Before we continue, I just want to put something on the record. Mr. Blanche, while the juror was at the podium, your client was audibly uttering something," Merchan told Trump attorney Todd Blanche. "I don't know what he was uttering, but it was audible and he was gesturing and he was speaking in the direction of the juror. I won't tolerate that. I will not tolerate any jurors being intimidated in this courtroom." The judge then asked Blanche to "speak to your client about it."
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Donald Trump sat at the defendant's table at Manhattan criminal court in New York City on April 15, 2024 — the day jury selection began. He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital encounters he allegedly had ahead of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Plenty happened on the first day of the trial including this headline-making news that had social media atwitter:
In live blog coverage from The New York Times, journalist Maggie Haberman wrote that at one point during proceedings, "Trump appears to be sleeping. His head keeps dropping down and his mouth goes slack." She later observed, "Trump has apparently jolted back awake, noticing the notes his lawyer passed him several minutes ago."
She expanded on the observation during a recess: "He appeared to be asleep," Haberman reiterated when CNN's Jake Tapper inquired about the snoozing incident on the air. "He didn't pay attention to a note his lawyer … passed him. His jaw kept falling on his chest and his mouth kept going slack. Now sometimes people do fall asleep during court proceedings, but it's notable given the intensity of this morning and a lot of what was being argued."
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Donald Trump sat at the defendant's table at Manhattan criminal court in New York City on April 15, 2024 — the day jury election began.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital encounters he allegedly had ahead of his 2016 presidential campaign.
When he left court the first day, he told reporters, "It's a scam. It's a political witch hunt. It continues, and it continues forever."
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Former President Donald Trump walked toward the courtroom after speaking to the press upon arrival for the first day of his trial for allegedly covering up hush-money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024.
On the first day of the trial, prosecutors asked Judge Juan Merchan to fine Trump $3,000 for three social media posts he made that attacked witnesses set to testify, alleging they violate a gag order put in place by the judge in March. Merchan will rule at a later date.
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Donald Trump spoke to the press after arriving ahead of the start of jury selection at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a hush-money scheme in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.
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Former President Donald Trump arrived ahead of the start of jury selection at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a hush-money scheme linked to alleged extramarital affairs he sought to shield from public knowledge ahead of the 2016 presidential election. It's the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.
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Donald Trump sat at the defendant's table at Manhattan criminal court in New York City on April 15, 2024 — the day jury election began.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital encounters he allegedly had ahead of his 2016 presidential campaign.
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Donald Trump sat at the defendant's table, alongside Todd Blanche and Emil Bove from his legal team, at Manhattan criminal court in New York City on April 15, 2024 — the day jury election began.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital encounters he allegedly had ahead of his 2016 presidential campaign.
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Donald Trump spoke to members of the media after arriving ahead of the start of jury selection at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a hush-money scheme in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.
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Donald Trump sat at the defendant's table, alongside Todd Blanche and Emil Bove from his legal team, at Manhattan criminal court in New York City on April 15, 2024 — the day jury election began.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital encounters he allegedly had ahead of his 2016 presidential campaign.
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Donald Trump spoke to the press after arriving ahead of the start of jury selection at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a hush-money scheme in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.
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Former President Donald Trump arrived ahead of the start of jury selection at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a hush-money scheme linked to alleged extramarital affairs he sought to shield from public knowledge ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
It's the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.
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Donald Trump sat at the defendant's table alongside lawyer Emil Bove at Manhattan criminal court in New York City on April 15, 2024 — the day jury election began.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital encounters he allegedly had ahead of his 2016 presidential campaign.
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Donald Trump attended the first day of his criminal trial — he's been accused of covering up hush-money payments linked to extramarital affairs ahead of the 2016 presidential election — at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024.
He's the first American former president to be criminally prosecuted, a seismic moment for the United States as the presumptive Republican nominee campaigns to re-take the White House.
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Margo Martin, deputy director of communications for former President Donald Trump, looked out after arriving at Manhattan criminal court in New York City on April 15, 2024, where Trump is being tried on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters ahead of the 2016 presidential campaign.
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Donald Trump spoke to the press after arriving ahead of the start of jury selection at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a hush-money scheme in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.
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Critics of Donald Trump gathered outside of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York City on April 15, 2024, for the start of the first-ever criminal trial against a former president of the United States.
He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.
