Live updates: Opening statements expected in Trump hush money trial

NEW YORK — Opening statements are expected Monday morning in Donald Trump’s trial for allegedly falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment during the 2016 presidential election campaign. Once the prosecutor and Trump’s legal team have outlined their cases to the jury, the first witnesses will be called to testify in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

Here’s what to know

• Twelve jurors and six alternates were chosen after a little more than three days of sometimes emotional jury selection. Trump’s defense lawyers scoured some of the prospective jurors’ social media profiles for evidence of whether they would be biased against the 45th president.
• The trial is not being televised. The Washington Post has reporters in the courtroom and media overflow room who are posting live updates.
• Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to his reimbursement of longtime lawyer Michael Cohen for a hush money payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who alleged that she had a sexual encounter with Trump years before he sought the presidency.

8:57 AM: Analysis from Shayna Jacobs, Courts, law enforcement and criminal justice

Reporters are now being let in, 55 minutes behind schedule. There was a delay in security sweeps.

8:56 AM: Analysis from Shayna Jacobs, Courts, law enforcement and criminal justice

Entry to the courthouse is significantly delayed this morning. At nearly 9 a.m., the security line hasn’t opened to the larger number of media. It was expected to open at 8 a.m.

8:43 AM: Analysis from Hannah Knowles, National politics reporter covering campaigns

Ahead of court Monday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social that “America Loving Protesters should be allowed to protest at the front steps of Courthouses.” He added that people should “GO OUT AND PEACEFULLY PROTEST.” It’s very quiet outside the court in Manhattan — mostly just reporters.

8:24 AM: Tragedy near courthouse Friday did not pause the trial

A man set himself on fire Friday afternoon across the street from the Manhattan courthouse where former president Donald Trump is on trial, and died hours later. Court officers and police teams in tactical gear descended on the street, and pedestrians were blocked from a main courthouse entryway.

The quick and massive response illustrated the high level of security surrounding the courthouse, which has seen many other high-profile trials, though none quite like this.

Read our full story on the Manhattan criminal courthouse.

By: Washington Post staff

8:23 AM: At Trump’s N.Y. trial, the jury pool spoke, and he had to listen

Live updates: Opening statements expected in Trump hush money trial

NEW YORK — The retired police photographer in the jury pool was visibly nervous, at times meandering in his answers. But when a defense attorney asked whether he had a strong opinion of Donald Trump, the man offered an immediate response.

“Oh boy, here we go,” the man said. “Going back to Central Park, I knew some of the kids, their cousins.”

Read our full story about how jury selection became a sort of historical lens on the way New Yorkers, and Americans, view the 45th president.

By: David Nakamura and Josh Dawsey

8:23 AM: What is known about the jurors in Trump’s trial

Justice Juan Merchan’s Manhattan courtroom sits empty between proceedings on March 12 in New York.

The names of the jurors in Donald Trump’s criminal trial have not been made public. But the prospective jurors offered brief sketches of themselves in the details they revealed about their lives during voir dire. Here is what we know about the 12 jurors and six alternates, based on Washington Post reporting from the courthouse and pool reports.

By: Derek Hawkins, Patrick Svitek and Maeve Reston