Lawyers estimate length of opening statements
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said the prosecution’s opening statement would be about 40 minutes and Blanche said the defense’s would be about 25 minutes.
A key source of money for Trump’s legal fees is drying up
Trump has covered tens of millions of dollars in legal fees from his leadership PAC, Save America. But a new fundraising report filed over the weekend shows that the revenue stream might be drying up.
Save America started April with just $4.1 million in the bank as the group has paid almost $60 million in legal fees since the start of last year (the majority to firms related to his various trials). But there’s a bigger warning sign in the filings for Trump.
Shortly before announcing his presidential bid in 2022, Save America sent the top pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc., $60 million to be used to boost his candidacy from the outside. But amid the former president’s legal crunch, MAGA Inc. has been slowly refunding that donation, providing an important injection of funds into Save America as it pays Trump’s legal fees. (Note: Virtually all of the money Save America raised last month came from a refund.)
The new filings show that MAGA Inc. has refunded all but $2.8 million of that $60 million donation. So, Trump will need to find new ways to fund his legal defense, as there appears to be no sign those expenses are going away anytime soon.
Court is in session
The judge is on the bench and trial has begun for the day.
Trump’s lawyers will work to try to undermine Michael Cohen’s credibility.
All the players in Trump’s hush money trial
The charges against Trump stem from an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into an alleged “catch and kill” scheme to bury negative stories about Trump before the 2016 presidential election in a bid to influence the outcome.
According to prosecutors, several people participated in the scheme, which involved paying people off to buy their silence and covering up the payments in Trump’s business records.
Here are the key people in the case who will come up during the trial, potentially as witnesses.
Protesters outside the courthouse
Gary Grumbach / NBC News
A group of protesters is demonstrating outside the courthouse. Some are holding signs. One says, “Election interference is a crime.”
“Slept with a porn star. Screwed the voters,” another says, with a photo of Trump’s face.
Another has images of dictators and then Trump’s face saying that they all believe they’re above the law.
Trump arrives at the courthouse
Trump arrived at the courthouse at 8:52 a.m.
Trump criticizes hush money case in overnight post
In an overnight post on his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted Bragg while complaining about the case.
“The Corrupt Soros Funded District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, who has totally lost control of Violent Crime in New York, says that the payment of money to a lawyer, for legal services rendered, should not be referred to in a Ledger as LEGAL EXPENSE,” he wrote. “What other term would be more appropriate??? Believe it or not, this is the pretext under which I was Indicted, and that Legal Scholars and Experts CANNOT BELIEVE.”
Trump also repeated his claims of the hush money trial being part of an effort to interfere with his presidential campaign.
“It is also the perfect Crooked Joe Biden NARRATIVE — To be STUCK in a courtroom, and not be allowed to campaign for President of the United States!” he wrote.
Meet the 12 jury members of Trump’s hush money trial
All 12 jurors, plus an alternate, were selected to serve on the jury last week after they made it clear to both sides that they could render a fair and impartial verdict.
Prosecutors and the defense team whittled down a pool of nearly 200 people to 12 jurors and an alternate after grilling them on their personal history, political views, social media posts and ability to remain impartial despite any opinions they might have about the polarizing former president.
Pecker expected to be first witness
A source with direct knowledge of the situation tells NBC News that Pecker will be the first witness for the prosecution beginning today. This source says that due to the Sandoval hearing, opening statements and the gag order hearing tomorrow, they don’t expect the cross-examination of Pecker to happen until Thursday.
Prosecutors have said that Pecker, the longtime former publisher of the National Enquirer, is a central figure in the alleged coverup scheme and the architect of the “catch and kill” plots.
Opening statements and first witness on tap for Trump hush money trial
Opening statements are set to begin this morning at 9:30 a.m. ET in the case of the People of the State of New York versus Donald Trump, the first criminal trial of a former president.
Attorneys on both sides will present their opening statements after the judge delivers instructions to the 12-person jury and six alternates.
