Trump said only 10 words during his indictment
From everything I read and saw on TV about Donald Trump, I prepared to a large man. The 6-foot-3 politician is known for his incredible presence at campaign rallies and on our screens.
But in Courtroom 59 of the Manhattan Criminal Court, he was a much smaller figure, he was a man of humiliation.
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He appeared at the door of the hot and stuffy courtroom in his signature navy blue suit and red tie just before 2:30 pm. The first humiliation for many was that the court official, either unknowingly or deliberately walking in front of him, could not hold the door open for him, which caused the former president to reach out his hand to keep it from slamming shut. in his face.
Then, the 76-year-old man slowly and grimly walked to the front of the room to the waiting lawyers.
He made it a point to look directly at the person at the end of each row, which I interpreted as a forceful hold of a person who, perhaps for the first time in his adult life, was deprived of it. He shot me a look from my position at the back of the public gallery. It felt like contempt at the time.
The former president watches as Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy (left) describes the case against him. Photo: Elizabeth Williams/AP. . The gap where his make-up ended and his hairline began was much more visible in person.
«Everybody get up!» the little law clerk seemed to come out of nowhere. Referee Juan Mercan quickly entered and hid behind the bench. “Good,” he said. «Let's indict Mr. Trump.»
The clerk announced that the People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump case involved 34 counts of falsifying business records. How do you support this accusation? the judge asked. “Innocent,” the defendant replied.
He was asked a few more questions by Judge Merchan, a man whom the former president did not hide his disgust. «Yes» and «thank you,» came his polite and rather differentiated responses.
Trump may command a movement of millions of supporters around the world, a business empire, endless news cycles, and the Republican Party, but in a courtroom in Tuesday 4 April it was clear that the chief judge.
He spoke only 10 words during the hearing and was only allowed to speak when spoken to.
And that was it. Mr. Trump was escorted out the same door he entered to meet a crowd of photographers waiting in the hallway outside.
New York City reportedly spent $200m (£16.06m) on security measures during the former president's 45-minute court appearance. It wasn't hard to believe. In my three years as a New York correspondent for The Telegraph, I covered several criminal and federal trials, but I had never seen such an indictment buzz before.
It was a grand spectacle that the 45th president would normally have reveled in.
The reporters, some of whom were queuing outside the 100 Central Street courthouse, were forced to go through two metal detectors and two separate security checks about 24 hours before the hearing.
We were color-coded. tickets — green for those lucky few who managed to sit in the courtroom itself, white and yellow for those who were in crowded rooms and could follow the proceedings through closed-loop cameras with a time delay.
Each row of the gallery was guarded on both sides by members of the judicial police, all in body armor, armed with handcuffs and walkie-talkies. For every 50 or so admitted journalists, there should have been about 20 officers.
They warned us that they would strictly comply; you can't stand, you can't eat, you can't use electronics or risk contempt of court, and you can't leave before the end of the trial.
Even Donald Trump was banned from using his phone. For 45 minutes, no one in the world knew what he was thinking. It was the ultimate humiliation for a man who could very well be the next President of the United States.
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