While the criminal trial against Donald J. Trump is underway, there are few distractions in the courtroom. Lawyers and witnesses speak. The spectators are tense and silent. And a squadron of armed court officers and Secret Service agents guard the room.
But when Michael D. Cohen explained this week why he broke with his former boss in 2018 after saying he had spent more than a decade following Mr. Trump’s orders, reporters turned away from him and stared of the most noticeable interruptions in the process.
A parade of Trump’s Republican allies — including a governor and a former presidential candidate — marched into the courtroom, living examples of the loyalty that Mr. Cohen had just described and that he would soon disavow.
Key aspects of Mr. Trump’s approach are key to the complex story that the Manhattan district attorney’s office has told. And those trademarks can be found throughout the courthouse.
Prosecutors are relying on Mr. Cohen’s testimony, even as Todd Blanche, Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, this week attacked the former fixer’s credibility with a sledgehammer, forcing him to admit in the past that he has lied under oath.
But whether Mr. Trump is convicted or acquitted or the case ends with a hung jury, the trial has underscored the former president’s preferred tactics and behavior for decades — using allies as bullies, obsessing over the press and placed great emphasis on beauty and encouraging signs of loyalty. This recognizable pattern helped him win one election and could help him win a second as he has reshaped the Republican Party into an entity that stands for everything Mr. Trump wants.
Mr. Trump begins each day of court by contorting his face into a scowl as cameras come to photograph him before the jury enters – a facial expression he has described as “tough.”
Mr. Trump was joined most days by Boris Epshteyn, Mr. Trump’s top legal adviser and a controversial figure on the former president’s team. Mr. Epshteyn was previously represented by Mr. Blanche, whom Mr. Epshteyn helped bring into the Trump family.
Mr. Epshteyn appeared in court for the first time the day after his own indictment in Arizona. That charge was related to efforts to create a list of so-called bogus voters to keep Mr. Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election and refused to concede. Mr. Epshteyn was recently seen in court handing a journalist a printout of a Truth Social post in which Mr. Trump mocked a frequent critic, lawyer George Conway, who had been in the courtroom covering the case for The Atlantic.
Former female staffers have testified to the former president’s deep love for his wife. But even the presence of his aides and current staff traveling with him – groomed and well-coiffed – underscores how important it is for Mr. Trump to be surrounded by attractive women. Mr. Trump’s interest in being a sought-after playboy was evident decades before he became president.
This behavior was the focus of the “Access Hollywood” recording of Trump bragging about grabbing women by their genitals. Prosecutors have argued that the recording was one of the reasons Mr. Trump sought to suppress a story by porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.
And the number of elected officials or former candidates arriving to defend Mr. Trump reflects his constant demands for people to stand up for him and affirm him, voiced privately and on social media.
In the first days of the trial, almost no one appeared with Mr. Trump, despite weeks of discussions in his world about who might fill the two rows behind the defense table, reserved for lawyers, support staff and the defendant’s family.
But Mr. Trump complained to several people that he wanted to see more allies in the courtroom, and the message spread among elected officials who have long seen how Mr. Trump values loyalty. Senator Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, appeared in the courtroom one day, which he said was at the urging of Mr. Trump’s top adviser, Susie Wiles. He became a kind of beacon for the ranks of politicians who would soon emerge. Last week, members of the House of Representatives, state attorneys general and a governor were in attendance, all filling seats reserved for defense.
There were also two candidates to become Mr. Trump’s vice president: Vivek Ramaswamy and JD Vance. Their presence showed they were supporting a presumptive nominee who had repeatedly complained that his former vice president, Mike Pence, had not been tough enough in the final days of Mr. Trump’s term.
Even the speaker of the House of Representatives, a staunch conservative who has expressed an aversion to pornography in the past, appeared at the courthouse to defend the former president less than a week after the porn star left the witness stand.
Inside the building, Mr. Trump’s entourage has pushed the limits of what court rules allow. Some of his allies are taking advantage of exemptions granted to lawyers and support staff by sitting in the defense ranks and using cellphones banned elsewhere in the courtroom to send text messages or post on social media about the proceedings.
Photography and video recording are strictly prohibited in state courtrooms. Still, the fact that news cameras were set up in the courthouse hallway — as was the case with other high-profile defendants — has allowed Mr. Trump to speak to the press and given his allies the opportunity to create content on his behalf.
“Stand back and stand by, Mr. President,” Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida posted on X on Thursday, above a picture of himself standing behind Mr. Trump as the former president spoke in the hallway. Those words were reminiscent of Mr. Trump’s words in 2020 when he directed a message toward the far-right Proud Boys group during a debate with President Biden.
Some allies have made it clear that their goal was to attack witnesses at the trial in a way that Mr. Trump has complained about being prevented from doing himself because of a violation he was already involved in was fined.
“Hopefully more senators and congressmen will come in every day to represent him and be able to overcome this voting ban, and that’s one of the reasons we left – to be able to make our case for the president.” Trump,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Alabama Republican who attended Tuesday’s proceedings.
On Tuesday, some of the same allies who interrupted Mr. Cohen’s testimony filmed a video of themselves in the defense lounge, again testing the limits of what is allowed. Mr. Trump’s son Eric, his daughter-in-law Lara, his former rival Mr. Ramaswamy and two members of the House of Representatives made a video titled “Breaking Video From the Courthouse.”
“We need your support,” Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida said in the video sent in a fundraising email from Trump.
After prosecutors on Thursday mentioned the interruption during Mr. Cohen’s testimony two days earlier, Judge Juan M. Merchan advised Mr. Blanche not to let it happen again. The defense attorney protested, saying he had “less than zero control over what was happening.” And when Judge Merchan asked him if he was expecting anyone else that day, Mr. Blanche pleaded ignorance.
“Your honor, I have no idea,” he said, adding, “No, I don’t expect anyone else.” But I could be wrong.”
He hardly needed anyone else. Mr. Trump’s entourage that day included 11 congressmen, as well as Mr. Epshteyn and Eric Trump. The group had already taken their seats behind the defense table, awaiting cross-examination from Mr. Cohen.
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2024-05-18 15:20:59
www.nytimes.com
