Trump lashes out on Truth Social as he prepares for start of hush money trial today

The intrepid Alex Woodward is outside the Manhattan courtroom for us bright an early this morning and almost certainly hanging on to his coffee for dear life.

He explains that only six reporters are allowed inside the court itself during jury selection but there are 114 or so seats inside an overflow room, which leaves everyone else scrambling for access to one of those on a first come, first served basis.

Some outlets have paid people to hold a spot for them overnight, with the court yet to open for a few more hours.

He writes: “Sunrise at the New York County Superior Court, Criminal Term. Roughly 40 people are now in line, with about two hours to go before the doors open, after which everyone must pass through two security checks before reaching the 15th floor courtrooms.

“The small park across the street from the court’s front facade is surrounded by barricades. One year ago, when Donald Trump was arraigned in his first criminal case, media outnumbered the protesters and counterprotesters staged inside the park.

“Today, so far, it’s quiet, with only the sounds of birds chirping, reporter chatter and the occasional car honk in the distance.”

Today’s historic trial may ultimately last for up to two months and feature testimony from several key players from Trump’s past.

Among them is former publisher of The National Enquirer David Pecker who agreed to help the then-presidential candidate suppress stories, adult film star Stormy Daniels whose alleged affair is central to the case – and a former doorman of Trump Tower who spilled what he claimed to be one of the former president’s biggest secrets.

Here’s a timely look at the cast list from Ariana Baio.

With the beginning of Trump’s trial now just a few hours away, it’s worth looking back at the hush money case that started this whole thing: the Stormy Daniels affair.

Trump was only indicted for the scheme in 2023 but news of his payments to the porn star was first reported by The Wall Street Journal way back in 2018.

Here’s John Bowden on how we finally got here.

The first criminal trial of a former US president will begin with jury selection this very morning at 10am New York time.

Here’s more from Gustaf Kilander about how that opening process is likely to play out.

Here are a few of Trump’s latest grievance posts on his chosen platform:

You’ll be pleased to hear his legal plight has not stopped him from hawking Bibles with Christian country music star Lee Greenwood.

Donald Trump has lashed out at his successor Joe Biden in a Truth Social video accusing the president of being a “criminal” after he failed to delay an imminent criminal trial in Manhattan.

Trump lost three last-ditch bids in three days to delay his New York hush money trial, with jury selection set to begin on Monday at 10am.

The former president faces 88 felony counts in total across four state and federal prosecutions as he campaigns for a return to the White House. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him.

Trump continues to baselessly assert that he is the victim of a Democratic-led conspiracy against him, despite the fact that his criminal prosecutions were recommended by grand juries of members of the public.

His federal cases are overseen by an independent special counsel under the Department of Justice.

That hasn’t stopped the defendat from accusing his rival of “lawfare” against him.

Martha McHardy and Alex Woodward report.

Donald Trump has again made false claims about Democrats wanting “abortion up to the moment of birth, and even execution of babies” while he weighs in on the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion that reinstated “an inappropriate Law from 1864”.

Here’s what the former president wrote:

The Supreme Court in Arizona went too far on their Abortion Ruling, enacting and approving an inappropriate Law from 1864. So now the Governor and the Arizona Legislature must use HEART, COMMON SENSE, and ACT IMMEDIATELY, to remedy what has happened. Remember, it is now up to the States and the Good Will of those that represent THE PEOPLE. We must ideally have the three Exceptions for Rape, Incest, and Life of the Mother. This is important! Democrats are the EXTREMISTS – They support Abortion up to the moment of birth, and even execution of Babies, in some cases, after birth. This should not be. Arizona Legislature, please act as fast as possible!

Here’s how Mr Trump began his week talking about abortion:

Former president Donald Trump has promised to pardon supporters of his who have been charged, convicted, and in some cases imprisoned for crimes committed during the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

But according to a new report from anti-authoritarianism group Protect Democracy, he may not actually have that power even if he is returned to the White House after this year’s election.

The report, titled Checking the Pardon Power: Constitutional Limitations & Options for Preventing Abuse, lays out a number of circumstances in which a presidential pardon would not be valid because it would not be a legitimate use of the president’s authority to grant reprieves for “offenses against the United States”.

A special prosecutor has been assigned to look into whether Georgia Lt Gov Burt Jones should face criminal charges over efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia announced Thursday that its executive director, Pete Skandalakis, will handle the matter after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was barred from prosecuting Jones as part of her election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others.

Jones was one of 16 state Republicans who signed a certificate stating that Mr Trump had won Georgia and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors even though Democrat Joe Biden had been declared the winner in the state. As a state senator in the wake of the election, he also sought a special session of Georgia’s Legislature aimed at overturning Biden’s narrow win in the state.

Donald Trump has lashed out at President Joe Biden in a Truth Social video accusing the president of being a “criminal” after he failed to delay an imminent criminal trial in Manhattan. his string of criminal trials.

The former president faces 88 felony counts across four state and federal prosecutions as he campaigns for a return to the White House. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.

Mr Trump continues to baselessly assert that he is the victim of a Democratic-led conspiracy against him, despite the fact that his criminal prosecutions were recommended by grand juries of members of the public. His federal cases are overseen by an independent special counsel under the US Department of Justice.

That hasn’t stopped Mr Trump from accusing his rival of “lawfare” against him.

Martha McHardy and Alex Woodward report: