Donald Trump has arrived in court in a historic trial – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

The cortege with Trump arrived at the court building in Manhattan at 3 pm Norwegian time on Monday.

Shortly afterwards, he launched an attack against the trial in well-known style. According to the AFP news agency, he refers to it as “an attack on America and a “political persecution”.

– Something like this has not happened before, said the former president.

– They have no case, he further told the press.

A few hours after the trial began, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman reported that the former president appeared to have fallen asleep.

– Trump seems to be sleeping, she said in the newspaper’s coverage of the case.

– His head continues to drop and his mouth goes slack.

A few minutes later, Haberman added that Trump had apparently woken up and noticed the notes his lawyer had given him.

Supposed to have paid money to a porn star

Trump is indicted for violating the Accounting Act.

This allegedly occurred in connection with a payment of $130,000 from Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen to porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.

She allegedly received the money to keep a lid on the fact that she and Trump had had sex in a hotel ten years earlier.

Both Daniels and Cohen will testify against Trump in the trial.

The so-called “extortion money case” is only one of four criminal cases against the 77-year-old former president.

The other cases are:

The storming of Congress, whether Trump took documents with national security secrets out of the White House and whether Trump tried to overturn the election results in the state of Georgia.

– Enormous interest

But now the question is, did Trump take money from the campaign coffers to pay porn star Daniels right before the 2016 election?

Interest in the historic trial is enormous in the United States.

Several hundred journalists were in place outside the courtroom on Monday morning to cover the trial. Many of them had been queuing last night to get in.

Several supporters and opponents of Donald Trump are also present outside the courtroom.

Denies the charges

The case is still referred to as the least serious.

The first thing that happens when the court is set is that a jury must be selected. The process can take several days because hundreds of potential candidates must be evaluated.

Trump denies the accusations.

The maximum penalty for each of the 34 counts in the indictment is initially up to four years. New York caps sentencing for this type of crime at 20 years.

Experts the BBC has spoken to still think it is doubtful that Trump will be jailed if he is convicted and that fines are the most likely outcome of the case.

The entire trial may last eight weeks. The judge in the case is Juan Merchan.

Trump is required to attend the trial. However, he has requested time off on May 17 as his youngest son Baron (18) will graduate from high school that day.

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this case, we wrote that Trump could be sentenced to up to four years in prison. The correct thing is that the maximum penalty for each of the charges can be up to four years.