Donald Trump, the limits of justice and other lessons from the secret trial

On a bustling Monday morning in early May, journalists from around the world crowded into a dilapidated Manhattan courtroom to hear whether Donald Trump would be sent to prison.

For Judge Juan Merchan, the choice was stark: either impose a paltry four-figure fine for what prosecutors saw as repeated violations of the silence order, or order the incarceration of the man who was once president, and could become so in a few months. time. Any other criminal defendant would likely face some time behind bars after calling witnesses in this case and suggesting that jurors were corrupt.

But Trump is no ordinary defendant. Imprisoning him would pose many practical problems. No holding cell in New York was designed to house a member of the Secret Service and raise potential constitutional issues. So the penalty was handed down: $4,000, the maximum financial penalty allowed by law, for a man probably worth billions of dollars.

It's a moment that encapsulates how the US justice system has struggled to bring Trump to heel in this first-ever criminal trial against a former US president. The case of silence, as it is called, has lasted more than a month and a verdict could be delivered as early as next week.

This does not appear to have had much effect on his support in the polls. Still, the Manhattan district attorneys' case could be the only one against Trump to reach a verdict between now and the November election.

As a series of colorful characters from 77 years' past took to the 15th floor of the Manhattan courthouse this month to recount his alleged infidelities and improprieties, a Trump-appointed federal judge in Miami delivered the blow dispatch to the case in which the former president is accused of illegally keeping classified documents in the long grass, setting dates for legal proceedings that have pushed the trial well beyond Election Day.

A day later, a Georgia appeals court agreed to consider Trump's appeal for the disqualification of Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis, who was romantically involved with the lead prosecutor she hired to lead the state's election interference case. The ruling all but ruled out a trial this year.

Meanwhile, the federal election interference case against Trump has stalled while the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a monumental question about the scope of presidential immunity. A decision could come at any time between now and the end of his term, usually at the end of June.

Those setbacks pushed national attention more forcefully on the dilapidated New York County criminal courthouse, where Trump faced 34 counts over the $130,000 accounting paid to buy Stormy Daniels' silence , who threatened to come forward with allegations of a sexual relationship in the run-up to the 2016 elections.

Those hoping for new details about the former president's conduct were mostly disappointed. Even Daniel's memory of hitting the real estate moguls' butts with a rolled-up magazine before their alleged 2006 tryst had been widely covered in books, articles and a documentary series before she did so. repeats on the witness stand.

But for those curious about how the justice system would hold up in such an unprecedented situation with a character as singular as Trump, he offered some useful lessons.

Trump understands very well how to navigate the legal system

Although his speeches on Truth Social might suggest otherwise, Trump turned out to have a canny sense of the extent to which he could challenge the limits of the justice system. Once Merchan threatened to imprison him for further violations of the silence order, the former president largely stuck to more generalized attacks on the merits of the case and only began assaulting an individual prosecutor only once it was clear that no other witnesses would be called, making it difficult for Merchan to argue that he was jeopardizing the trial.

A sketch of Judge Juan Merchan in a courtroom Reuters

He managed to attract a stream of political surrogates, including several prominent House Republicans, who traveled to New York and said things about the witnesses that he couldn't say.

Trump has always been very good at finding these workarounds and rising to the occasion, said Cheryl Bader, an associate professor of law at Fordham University, of his use of elected officials to fill the airwaves with attacks on the 'affair. The defendant relied on the fact that people have a right under the First Amendment to criticize the system, she added.

Cleverly, Trump also chose to follow the advice of his counsel and reneged on his promise to take the stand himself, a move that may be personally satisfying but rarely strengthens the defense's case.

Trump can turn any arena into his campaign HQ

Being forced to sit in an often cold courtroom for eight hours a day and away from public view presented a challenge for Trump, who continually complained about being prevented from campaigning across the country. But he soon found a way to use the place to his own advantage.

Donald Trump, left, speaks to the press after a court hearing, accompanied by attorney Todd Blanche. Getty Images

Although there were few supporters gathered outside the court, Trump addressed the nation twice a day via television cameras set up in the hallway, and his comments were broadcast live. His aides even brought a portable printer to the courthouse so he could read the favorable press and triumphantly present it as evidence of what he calls a witch hunt by Democratic prosecutors.

Trump also used his time in New York to campaign more locally, holding rallies or events in New Jersey and the New York boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. He even staged a perfect photoshoot for the tabloid press by buying pizzas from the firefighters on his way home one evening.

Although he was unable to visit the television studios, some of America's biggest movie stars came to the courtroom known as Part 59 to witness the events themselves, including Rachel Maddow, Jeanine Pirro, Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper. Cooper delighted the Trump camp by saying he thought jurors would find the prosecution's star witness Michael Cohen to be not credible.

The trial has done nothing to alienate Trump's most loyal supporters.

The recitation in the filing of Trump's famous grab em bragging didn't stop a coterie of family-values ​​House Republicans and potential vice presidential picks from flocking to Trump's side in Manhattan, including including President Mike Johnson, a devout Christian.

While Trump was joined in court by only a handful of aides and his son Eric, the benches reserved for his team were overflowing as the trial entered its final stages. U.S. Senators JD Vance and Tommy Tuberville, as well as House Republicans Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz were among the dozens who came to show their support.

Republicans gathered en masse at the trial to show their support for Donald Trump. From left to right: Republican Byron Donalds; North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum; House Speaker Mike Johnson, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Rep. Cory Mills Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The surrogates took their stand to the press and furiously posted on social media what they claimed was a miscarriage of justice. At one point, so many Republicans traveled to Manhattan that the party was in danger of temporarily losing its majority in the House.

Other allies who made the trip included Chuck Zito, former leader of a New York chapter of the Hells Angels turned movie star and stuntman, and law professor Alan Dershowitz.

A jury could decide Trump's fate as soon as Wednesday. Polls suggest the historic verdict will likely have little influence on who wins the White House, and even a conviction will result in a lengthy appeals process.

George Grasso, former judge of the same criminal court who attended the trial, admits that a conviction will not necessarily be decisive [to the election]. But there is no doubt that the facts of the case warranted being heard by 12 ordinary New Yorkers and the world.

Regardless of the outcome of this case, it is a justifiable and appropriate case to bring, he said. In the United States, no one is above the law.

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