Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder

Donald Trump at Manhattan criminal trial

Trump called the "scam" proceedings a "political witch hunt"

(Image credit: Jabin Botsford-Pool / Getty Images)

published 16 April 2024

What happened

Former President Donald Trump was in court Monday for the first day of his historic criminal trial over hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Monday's hearing was largely focused on jury selection but Judge Juan Merchan also ruled that prosecutors can't play Trump's infamous "Access Hollywood" footage during trial and agreed to hear arguments that Trump violated a judicial gag order.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.