Donald Trump is set to stand trial today for falsifying business records during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The former POTUS is facing 34 felony counts and has been accused of violating federal campaign finance laws after he paid his lawyer Michael Cohen bonuses and extra payments through the Trump Organization, which were falsely logged as legal expenses, per the Associated Press. Cohen paid off Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal to conceal the extramarital affairs they allegedly had with Trump years before.
Cohen pled guilty in 2018 to violating campaign finance laws, claiming he made such hush money payments “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office.”
AP reports that this marks the first time a former U.S. president has stood trial. This trial comes at an interesting time considering Trump has been ramping up his second presidential campaign as the presumed Republican candidate for this year’s election. Per Trump’s words, he will be standing trial during the day and “campaigning during the night.”
Considering this could be a landmark moment in history, will Trump’s trial be televised? Here’s everything you need to know.
Trump Hush Money Trial Time: When will Trump be in the court room?
The former U.S. president is expected in court four days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.
Trump has already arrived at the court house in New York, telling reporters outside of the courtroom that he is “very honored to be here.”
How to watch Donald Trump’s trial:
The trial will not be livestreamed or televised. According to USA Today, in the state of New York, the media must apply for a trial to be televised per a judge’s approval. But Judge Juan Merchan rejected the request.
Despite this, photographers are being allowed in the courtroom and TV cameras will be allowed in the hallway outside the courtroom.
Trump may also address reporters outside of the courtroom. Judge Merchan estimated that the trial could take about six weeks.
