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Of the 1.4 million adults who live in Manhattan, 12 of them are about to become the first Americans to try a former president of the country. The criminal trial against Donald Trump for the alleged payment of a bribe to a porn actress to buy her silence will introduce dystopian elements and others typical of a blockbuster into the city: a huge deployment of security forces and secret agents, with caravans of tinted windows ; two prohibited zones, or “non-zones”, as they are called in English, around the Manhattan Criminal Court and Trump Tower - where the accused will stay during the trial -, and an Orwellian surveillance on social networks to try to detect any threat.
Although Trump has vigorously resisted, hoping to postpone his four criminal trials until after the November elections - to freeze the cases if he were re-elected - he has not succeeded in the one in New York, known as the
Stormy Daniels case
. a battery of
34 series E crimes, the lightest within the category of serious infractions in that State, for the falsification of accounting entries to cover up the bribery of Daniels in 2016 (supposedly so that the extramarital relationship would not harm his electoral career); The payment, in fact, was recorded as “legal expenses.” Trump, who rejects the accusations, will sit on the bench starting this Monday for the six to eight weeks that the process is expected to last, with daily sessions except for Wednesday recesses.
He will do so protected from public view, because New York State laws prohibit it from being televised, but the swarm of cameras at the entrance to the court and in the hallway leading to the courtroom will give him a priceless loudspeaker in the middle of the election campaign. The voice of the candidate and that of the accused will merge into one, that of a victim of political persecution, as he has been presenting for months before public opinion and, above all, his followers. Victimization has given him good electoral results in the primaries and also financial results, since he has made abundant cash after each accusation. But the exorbitant legal expenses involved in facing four criminal proceedings and two other civil proceedings have drained the coffers of his campaign, with a transfer of funds from the candidate to the accused that some Republicans believe is unjustifiable.
For the constitution of the jury, which is expected to last one to two weeks, but which could be delayed due to objections from prosecutors and the defense, several hundred Manhattan residents will be summoned. It is a critical period of the process: both the prosecution and the defense will try to detect hidden prejudices, with the help of a 42-question questionnaire. In the selection, the candidates will not be questioned about their opinions or political affiliation, but about their sources of information - the form includes twenty, including conventional media, social networks and the box "I do not follow the news" -, if they have worked for Trump or have attended any of his rallies, and if they have ever been members of the Proud Boys, the so-called
Trump army
, some of whose militants participated in the 2021 assault on the Capitol, or of the QAnon conspiracy movement , which spread anti-establishment hoaxes for Trump's greater electoral glory. They will also be asked if they have any feelings or formed opinions about how the Republican candidate is being treated in the case, a slippery question whatever the answer.
The magistrate in the case, Juan Merchan, of Colombian origin, has issued a silence order, or gag order, prohibiting the former president from attacking prosecutors, witnesses, court staff and the judge's own relatives, after a series of angry posts by the tycoon on his Truth Social platform. It is not the first time that a magistrate tries to curb his incontinence, but previous cases confirm that it is almost impossible to set limits, even if this means incurring contempt. In the civil trial for business fraud for which he has been sentenced to pay 464 million dollars [about 435.6 million euros], the judge even had to ask the lawyers to control his disgraced client. And the
Stormy Daniels case
, rife with dirty laundry, especially lends itself to verbal titillation. Judge Merchan has so far kept the defense at bay.
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The Republican has already announced his intention to testify - on legal advice, he could decline to do so so as not to incriminate himself - but that would be another unprecedented moment in a trial full of unpublished details. Many legal experts doubt that he would really risk having to answer a series of very personal questions under oath, lest he commit perjury. During a press conference held this week with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, at Mar-a-Lago (Palm Beach), Trump assured when asked about the trial: “I will testify, absolutely.” But, unpredictable as usual, it is not ruled out that he will be involved in a scare.
Their lawyers hope for an acquittal or for a juror to abstain – reaching a verdict requires unanimity – which could lead to a mistrial. If the former president is convicted, each count carries a maximum prison sentence of four years.
The Manhattan trial may be Trump's only trial before the election. Two federal cases, as well as another state case in Georgia, could be postponed until after the votes. However, the first criminal trial in history of a former president represents the definitive collision between Trump's legal via crucis and his presidential ambitions. The process will change the presidential campaign in an unprecedented way. The accused will again be a candidate on Wednesdays and weekends. But the fact that he has moved part of his campaign team to New York suggests that he will take advantage of every appearance in court for his usual slander. If he, in addition, raises more money for his ailing campaign, he could gain some benefit from the ordeal.
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