WRAP: Trump's historic criminal hush money trial kicks off in New York

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Former U.S. Donald Trump left Trump Tower on Monday (April 15) morning for a historic criminal trial, stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star, that could keep him in court for weeks and complicate his bid to win back the White House. Trump, 77, is the first former U.S. president to face a criminal trial. He is required to attend the trial in Manhattan, which could last through May. Jury selection is expected to take about a week, followed by witness testimony. ( 5272-USA-TRUMP/NEW YORK-DEPARTURE)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL15, 2024) (NY POOL - Access all)

1. FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WALKING OUT OF TRUMP TOWER AND GETTING INTO LIMO

2. MOTORCADE WITH TRUMP LEAVING TRUMP TOWER FOR COURTHOUSE

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Aerials showed Trump's motorcade arriving at a New York court on Monday (April 15) where he is set to defend himself in a hush money trial, the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president. (5261-USA-TRUMP/NEW YORK-MOTORCADE AERIALS)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (ABC - Broadcast: No use USA. No Archive. Digital: No use USA. No Archive.)

3. AERIAL OF FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S MOTORCADE HEADING TO COURT

4. AERIAL OF TRUMP EXITING VEHICLE AND PAUSING TO WAVE TO CROWD BEFORE ENTERING COURT

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Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to stand criminal trial on Monday (April 15) when he appeared in a Manhattan court to face charges stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star that could complicate his bid to win back the White House. "This is political persecution," Trump, 77, said before entering the courtroom and taking his seat at the defense table with by his attorneys and wearing his signature blue suit and red tie. (5257-USA-TRUMP/NEW YORK-COURT ARRIVAL)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (NY TRUMP POOL – Access all)

5. FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WALKING INTO HALLWAY, APPROACHING REPORTERS WITH LAWYER TODD BLANCHE (RIGHT)

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

“This is an assault on America. Nothing like this has never happened before. There's never been anything like it. Every legal scholar said this case is nonsense. It should never have been brought. It doesn’t deserve anything like this. There is no case. And they've said, people that don't necessarily really follow or like Donald Trump, said, this is an outrage that this case was brought. This is political persecution. This is a persecution like never before. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. And again, it's a case that should have never been brought. It's an assault on America. And that's why I'm very proud to be here. This is an assault on our country, and it's a country that's failing. It's a country that's run by an incompetent man who's very much involved in this case. This is really an attack on a political opponent. That's all it is. So, I'm very honored to be here. Thank you very much.”

7. TRUMP TURNING, WALKING INTO COURTROOM WITH LEGAL TEAM

8. POLICE STANDING OUTSIDE COURT

9. COURT EXTERIOR

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Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to stand criminal trial on Monday (April 15) when he appeared in a Manhattan court to face charges stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star that could complicate his bid to win back the White House. Wearing his signature blue suit and red tie, Trump, 77, sat at the defense table while Justice Juan Merchan set limits on witnesses and evidence to be presented at trial and denied a motion by Trump's lawyers to have the judge recuse himself. (5303-USA-TRUMP/NEW YORK-SKETCHES)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (JANE ROSENBERG SKETCHES - Access all) (MUTE)

10. COURT SKETCH OF FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SITTING AT DEFENSE TABLE WITH LAWYER TODD BLANCHE TO HIS RIGHT, SURROUNDED BY COURT SECURITY OFFICERS, AND JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN (CENTER RIGHT) PRESIDING

11. COURT SKETCH OF MERCHAN

12. COURT SKETCH OF TRUMP, BLANCHE, AND MERCHAN

13. COURT SKETCH OF TRUMP ENTERING COURTROOM, BEHIND BLANCHE, FOLLOWED BY SECRET SERVICE

14. COURT SKETCH OF TRUMP SMILING TO JURY POOL AS HE'S INTRODUCED TO THEM

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Former U.S. President Donal Trump’s historic criminal trial divided crowds in New York on Monday (April 15), with small groups of supporters and opponents gathered outside the courthouse early in the morning to support their side. (5277-USA-TRUMP/NEW YORK-SCENE)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

15. COURT EXTERIOR / SUPPORTERS OF DONALD TRUMP WAVING TRUMP 2024 FLAGS

16. CLOSE OF TRUMP HAT, SPEAKER

17. CROWDS HOLDING PRO TRUMP FLAGS

18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TRUMP SUPPORTER WHO WOULDN'T SHARE HER NAME, SAYING:

“This is not the America I grew up in. It's frightening and it's horrible and people are not speaking out. And I'll be so upset if when this country is turned, when people say, 'what's going on, it's not fair,' shut up because you didn't do anything to stop it."

19. VARIOUS OF TRUMP SUPPORTERS, WAVING FLAG AND WEARING PRO-TRUMP CLOTHES AND SPEAKING THROUGH MEGAPHONE

20. (SOUNDBITE) (English) RIGHT WING ACTIVIST, LAURA LOOMER, SAYING:

"He's got a gag order by this corrupt Judge Merchan, whose daughter is a Democrat political operative who's working with Democrats like Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. They literally have the Biden-Harris campaign as a client, working with (California Democrat Representative and Senate Candidate) Adam Schiff to raise millions of dollars for Democrats that are actively fundraising and writing emails. Oh, you don't want to hear this, right? Of course. You want to talk about the bias, and the media goes away because nobody wants to talk about how Donald Trump did nothing wrong.”

21. VARIOUS OF SECURITY

22. VARIOUS OF ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTERS HOLDING SIGN AND CHANTING, (English), "NO IS ABOVE THE LAW"

23. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTIVIST WITH RISE AND RESIST NEW YORK, JAMIE BAUER, SAYING:

"We, individually and collectively, are glad to see that Trump is finally being brought in front of the judge in a criminal case. This is just one of four cases. It's the first. We're glad it's here in New York, because we know Judge Merchan is a fair judge, and we know that the New York juries are fair and unbiased juries."

24. ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTERS

25. PROTESTER HOLDING SIGN THAT READS, (English), "CONVICT TRUMP ALREADY!"

26. TRUMP SUPPORTERS HOLDING FLAG

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New Yorkers in Bryant Park on Monday (April 15) said Donald Trump shouldn't be allowed to run for president given all his cases, as the former U.S. president makes history as he becomes the first former president in a criminal trial. (5365-USA-TRUMP/NEW YORK-REACTION)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

27. VARIOUS OF BRYANT PARK

28. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT, CHRISTOPHER MCKENZIE, SAYING:

“No! I don't think he should be allowed to run, that's crazy."

29. PEOPLE SITTING AROUND THE FOUNTAIN AT BRYANT PARK

30. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT, CHRISTOPHER MCKENZIE, SAYING:

“This is a knowing crime. It's like, 'It'll be fine.' It won't be. You can't have a president that's going to get away with small things like that because then he'll get away with other things."

31. BRYANT PARK

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In an interview on Monday (April 15, legal legal analyst Neama Rahmani said it’s unlikely for former U.S. President Donald Trump to do jail time, as New York prosecutors asked a judge at the start his historic criminal hush money trial. According to Rahmani, there’s a small subset of undecided voters who might be turned off if Trump becomes a convicted felon, even if he's not incarcerated. If convicted, Trump could still hold office if he defeats Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election. But according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, half of independent voters and one in four Republicans say they would not vote for him if he were convicted of a felony. (5335-USA-TRUMP/NEW YORK-ANALYST)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

32. TRUMP SUPPORTERS WITH PRO-TRUMP FLAGS OUTSIDE COURTHOUSE

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

33. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, WEST COAST TRIAL LAWYERS PRESIDENT, NEAMA RAHMANI, SAYING:

“These are not serious felonies under New York law, if they're even felonies.”

34. WHITE FLASH

35. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, WEST COAST TRIAL LAWYERS PRESIDENT, NEAMA RAHMANI, SAYING:

“But if Trump just made the payments to save his self and his family from embarrassment, that's just a misdemeanour. So even if Trump is convicted in this case, even if he's convicted of a felony, I think it's very unlikely he gets any prison time."

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

34. ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTER HOLDING PROTEST SIGNS OUTSIDE COURTHOUSE

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

35. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, WEST COAST TRIAL LAWYERS PRESIDENT, NEAMA RAHMANI, SAYING:

“There's a small subset of undecided voters, and Trump is so polarizing that most Americans are either for or against him. But I think for that small subset, I think many of them will be turned off if he is a convicted felon, even if he's not incarcerated. I mean, being a felon is a scarlet letter here in the United States.”

37. WHITE FLASH

38. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, WEST COAST TRIAL LAWYERS PRESIDENT, NEAMA RAHMANI, SAYING:

“So I think that's something that will potentially make a difference in this election, especially if Trump takes the stand and he perjures himself and people don't believe him, it may end up costing him the election."

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

36. VARIOUS OF ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTER OUTSIDE COURTHOUSE, BEING ESCORTED AND CONFRONTING PRO-TRUMP DEMONSTRATORS

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Former President Donald J. Trump railed against the judge on the first day of his historic criminal trial, the first to involve a former president, even as Justice Juan Merchan dismissed dozens of potential jurors on Monday (April 15) who said they could not impartially decide whether the former U.S. president is guilty or innocent of criminal charges. (5329-USA-TRUMP/NEW YORK-HALLWAY REMARKS)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

37. FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WALKING OUT OF COURTROOM AND TOWARDS MEDIA WAITING INSIDE COURTHOUSE

38. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP SAYING:

“It looks like the judge isn't going to allow me to escape this scam. It's a scam trial. If you read all of the legal pundits, all of the legal scholars today, there is not one that I see that said this is a case that should be brought or tried. It's a scam. It's a political witch hunt. It continues and it continues forever. And we're not going to be given a fair trial. It's a very, very sad thing. In addition, as you know, next Thursday, we're before the United States Supreme Court in a very big hearing on immunity. And this is something that we've been waiting for a long time. And the judge, of course, is not going to allow us. He's a very conflicted judge and he's not going to allow us to go to that. He won't allow me to leave here for a half day, go to DC and go before the United States Supreme Court because he thinks he's superior, I guess, to the Supreme Court. And we got a real problem with this judge. We have a real problem with a lot of things having to do with this trial, including the D.A., because you can go right outside and people are being mugged and killed all day long and he's sitting here all day with about ten or 12 prosecutors over nothing. Over nothing. Over what people say, over what people say shouldn't be a trial. So I just want to thank you very much. That I can't go to my son's graduation or that I can't go to the United States Supreme Court, that I'm not in Georgia or Florida or North Carolina campaigning like I should be , it's perfect for the radical left Democrats. That's exactly what they want. This is about election interference. That’s all it's about. Thank you very much."

39. TRUMP WALKING THROUGH OPEN DOORS, FOLLOWED BY SECRET SERVICE

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump was cheered upon his arrival at Trump Tower on Monday (April 15), following the first day of his historic criminal trial, the first to involve a former president.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 15, 2024) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

40. TRUMP GETTING OUT OF VEHICLE AS PEOPLE CAN BE HEARD CHEERING AT HIM, TRUMP WAVING AND ENTERING TRUMP TOWER

41. EXTERIOR OF TRUMP TOWER AND VEHICLES DRIVING THROUGH