Trump trial live updates: Judge to consider gag order violations before first witness returns to stand

Donald Trump unloaded on reporters and news cameras for nine minutes outside a Manhattan criminal courtroom on Monday after jurors heard opening statements and the first witness took the stand to testify in the first-ever criminal trial of an American president.

“It’s very unfair what’s going on and I should be allowed to campaign,” he said as he left the courthouse.

“We did nothing wrong.”

After four days of jury selection last week, the trial on the 15th floor of a New York City criminal courtroom began on Monday with opening statements that outlined this alleged plot to unlawfully influence the election’s outcome.

Here’s Alex Woodward’s report from the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

The former president turned criminal defendant was busy on social media last night, posting a series of preposterous, self-pitying campaign videos about his enemies trying to “tear him down”, at least one of which bordered on the downright irresponsible as he accused the federal government of trying to silence him because he stands up for the electorate.

He also called DA Bragg an “election denier”, just in time for Judge Merchan’s hearing on whether his social media output amounted to violations of his gag order in the hush money trial.

Trump otherwise seemed preoccupied by the Supreme Court’s hearing on his spurious “presidential immunity defence” on Thursday, claiming that, without it, presidents would be vulnerable to extortion and blackmail threats (didn’t he try to extort Volodymyr Zelensky??)

He also took time to reassure the kids that losing TikTok would be Joe Biden’s fault, denounce the protests at Columbia University and wish everyone a happy Passover!

A Kentucky man who stormed the U.S. Capitol while carrying a Confederate battle flag was sentenced on Monday to more than two years in prison for pepper spraying two police officers in the face, partially blinding them for hours during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

Isreal Easterday was 19 years old when he joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters in invading the Capitol. He used pepper spray to assault two Capitol police officers who were separately guarding the East Rotunda Doors.

Chief Judge James Boasberg cited Easterday’s youth as a reason for handing down a prison term — two years and six months — that was over five times lower than the Justice Department’s initial sentencing recommendation.

The judge said Easterday, who was homeschooled by his mother while living on a family farm, “may not have fully appreciated what was going on there” at the Capitol on Jan. 6 or recognized that the Confederate flag is a “symbol of rebellion.”

Donald Trump’s legal fees are taking a chunk out of his campaign funds – with one of the groups that has underwritten many of those costs having spent nearly $3.7m last month.

Figures released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show this is what the Save America political action committee (PAC) spent in March, amounting to nearly three in every four dollars it raised during the same period.

Martha McHardy takes a look at the numbers:

In addition to establishing a potentially historic ruling about the scope of presidential power, the court’s decision — whenever it comes — will undoubtedly go a long way in determining a trial date for Trump in one of the four criminal prosecutions that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee faces.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead:

Anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr’s long-shot presidential bid appears to be drawing more support from former president Donald Trump than President Joe Biden, according to a new poll.

The survey of 1,000 registered voters, conducted between 12-15 April by NBC News, revealed that Mr Biden is trailing Mr Trump by two percentage points in a hypothetical two-way race, 46 per cent to 44 per cent.

Few people generate as many headlines as Taylor Swift. Her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and subsequent appearances at his games, including the Super Bowl, created bad blood among many right-wingers. Meanwhile, Democrats hope that an endorsement of Joe Biden would make him untouchable.

But while the lavender haze of the primaries wears off, only a handful of states remain, including Swift’s home state of Pennsylvania. Particularly, her home county of Berks County explains plenty about the 2024 election. Here’s how Berks County will drop everything now for Trump or speak now for Biden (and bonus points for anyone who finds all the hidden references).

A witness who spoke to federal investigators about Donald Trump was so afraid of repercussions for cooperating with the FBI that he asked agents not to record his voluntary interview.

The FBI officials were speaking to the witness — whose name is redacted in documents — as part of their probe into how documents with classification markings ended up at the former president’s Palm Beach, Florida home long after the end of his term in office.

Following the hearing, Ms Habba fumed that it was “wasted time” and a waste of taxpayer dollars as she accused Ms James of waging unnecessary complaints about the bond and tried to draw comparisons with his criminal case.

It’s the case that many thought might never make it to trial, and yet at 9.30am ET on Monday 22 April, twelve jurors, six alternates, two teams of attorneys, one former president, and the world’s press were in attendance as Judge Juan Merchan called the court to order.

Here’s what you need to know about what happened in court today: