“In an impersonal room on the 15th floor of Manhattan Criminal Court, Donald Trump sat with his arms folded and his eyes fixed on the distance. So the British in. “Telegraph“ describes the former US president at the start of yesterday's substantive case against him for “buying silence” .
„Telegraph“ specifies that it is one of only four foreign publications granted access to the courtroom.
The newspaper's correspondent in New York continued to describe the court scene, writing that while Trump's team “crowded like a flock around the judge”, he himself, usually used to being surrounded by supporters, remained alone.
Room 59, where the case against Mr Trump for hush money is being heard, has eleven blinding light fixtures and marks on the walls from posters that have now been taken down. "This is far from the luxury the former president is used to. But with the process expected to last at least six weeks, it is a situation he will get to know well, notes the Telegraph.
The publication recalls that Trump, who usually makes “furious outbursts against the judge”, yesterday remained “almost motionless, with his eyes fixed mostly ahead, occasionally muttering something to his lawyers or looking at the jurors” .
The former president has previously winked at members of the press, but yesterday “his most animated gesture was shaking his head in response to words spoken by judge Juan Mercan.
„Mr Trump did not even turn to watch a scathing 45-minute opening statement by US Attorney Matthew Colangelo, in which he accused Mr Trump of trying to “vilify” the 2016 elections through an elaborate scheme to "replace" negative stories", notes the publication's correspondent.
The former president relaxed in front of reporters and cameras only after leaving the courtroom, wrote the British newspaper “Independent”. He spoke for nine minutes outside the Manhattan courthouse after opening statements and the first witness in his trial.
„What is happening is very unfair and I should be allowed to run my campaign,” Trump said as he left the courtroom. “I have done nothing wrong,”, he added.
„I should be in Georgia now, I should be in Florida”, quoted the former US president in the “Washington Post”.
In the first hearing of the first criminal trial against a former US president, prosecutors accused Donald Trump of leading a “planned, coordinated, years-long conspiracy to influence the 2016 election” that included secret payments of money to the porn actress , noted the publication. “This was election fraud pure and simple,” said Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo.
For 40 minutes yesterday, a prosecutor described the evidence that shows Trump broke the law. "The prosecutor's presentation was quiet and measured, he never raised his voice and kept his hands in his pockets for most of the time he spoke," notes the Washington Post.