RSerious look, pursed lips, Donald Trump solemnly advances in the central aisle of the courtroom, on the fifteenth floor of the Manhattan court. For the first time in the history of the United States, a former president is criminally indicted.
The imposing court, in the south of the island of Manhattan, has already witnessed memorable moments, when David Chapman pleaded guilty to shooting John Lennon, or during the conviction of sex crimes of Harvey Weinstein.
But on Tuesday, everyone from armed police to the most hardened court reporters seemed tense when one of New York’s most famous people, former US President Donald Trump, symbolically became a defendant in the eyes of the justice.
Before the start of the hearing, a handful of photographers, including one from AFP, were authorized to immortalize the presence of the former tenant of the White House, 76, in a room with a stifling atmosphere.
Blue suit, red tie, linen hair a bit disheveled, Donald Trump welcomed the goals with a steely gaze.
Exhaustion
But once the photographers left, the Republican billionaire relaxed and his eyes sometimes seemed to betray exhaustion.
During the hearing, which lasted an hour, his attitude sometimes seemed that of a child on the day of the start of the school year: a little curious, a little bored and wondering when he could go out.
But, the one who made a name for himself as a real estate magnate, then a TV star before reaching the highest political office in the country, was content. And on the court theater stage, he let his lawyers play the leading roles.
So, as is customary for an accused at this stage of the proceedings, he rarely spoke, but when he did, it was loud and clear, to say the words “not guilty”.
“Frustrated”
The former head of state rejected the 34 charges brought against him. The charges are based on alleged secret payments, notably at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign, to buy the silence of an adult movie star, Stormy Daniels, with whom he allegedly had a relationship in 2006 – which Trump denies .
At the foot of the court, an imposing building with art-deco architecture, the sunny square is filled with hundreds of journalists, police officers and anti or pro-Trump activists who shout at each other, in a sometimes electric atmosphere.
In the courtroom, where the “mid-century” design sometimes gives way to peeling paint, Donald Trump’s lawyers are also determined to do battle.
Donald Trump’s top adviser, Todd Blanche, who has just left a prominent New York law firm to lead the defendant’s team, refers to his client as “the president”. He urges the judge not to prevent him from reacting to the case and its developments on social networks.
He said limiting his ability to speak would be “potentially unfair to someone running for president of the United States,” the attorney said.
Mr. Trump is “absolutely frustrated, upset and thinks a great injustice is happening,” added Todd Blanche.
A palpable attitude when the 45th President of the United States turned around and left the room with great strides, without a word, supervised by the Secret Service, the elite police protecting high American dignitaries.
05/04/2023 01:29:51 – New York (AFP) – © 2023 AFP