As hush money trial begins, Trump's sex life emerges as key theme

Source: Washington Post

THE TRUMP CASES
As hush money trial begins, Trump’s sex life emerges as key theme

Before jurors are questioned, judge spends hours hashing out what a jury should know about allegations involving women other than Stormy Daniels

By Devlin Barrett, David Nakamura and Shayna Jacobs
Updated April 15, 2024 at 5:52 p.m. EDT | Published April 15, 2024 at 4:01 p.m. EDT

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NEW YORK — The opening day of Donald Trump’s criminal trial delved deep into his tabloid-fueled sex life, as lawyers and the judge debated how many salacious details jurors should eventually hear as they decide whether he broke the law to cover up hush money payments. ... The historic first trial of a former U.S. president began Monday in a storied courthouse that has seen a host of high-profile cases over the years, from rap stars to movie moguls, but never one with such potential consequences for the nation and the world.

The dry rituals of court only made the proceedings more surreal, as New York Supreme Court Justice Juan M. Merchan warned Trump he could be removed or sent to jail if he disrupted the trial or failed to appear, and prosecutors said they would seek to hold Trump in contempt even before a single potential juror had been questioned.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was openly contemptuous of the trial when speaking to reporters in the courthouse hallway. “This is an assault on America,” he declared, calling the case a “political prosecution ... that should never have been brought.”

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Once inside the courtroom, however, Trump was anything but disruptive. He frequently appeared bored or uninterested in the legal jousting that took up the entire morning session. ... Shortly after the lunch break, as Merchan read a lengthy series of instructions to prospective jurors, Trump closed his eyes and at times appeared to nod off. He then would abruptly catch himself and stiffen his posture.

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By Devlin Barrett
Devlin Barrett writes about the FBI and the Justice Department, and is the author of "October Surprise: How the FBI Tried to Save Itself and Crashed an Election." He was part of reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes in 2018 and 2022. In 2017 he was a co-finalist for the Pulitzer for Feature Writing and the Pulitzer for International Reporting. Twitter https://twitter.com/DevlinBarrett

By David Nakamura
David Nakamura covers the Justice Department with a focus on civil rights. He has previously covered the White House, sports, education, city government and foreign affairs. Twitter https://twitter.com/davidnakamura

By Shayna Jacobs
Shayna Jacobs is a federal courts and law enforcement reporter on the national security team at The Washington Post, where she covers the Southern and Eastern districts of New York. Twitter https://twitter.com/shaynajacobs

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/15/trump-hush-money-trial-sex-tabloids/