Trump appears in hush money case while DA Fani Willis answers misconduct allegations

New York hearing: Judge Merchan takes the bench

Judge Juan Merchan has taken the bench.

Georgia hearing: Judge tells witness not to watch livestreams of hearing

Judge McAfee says that witnesses should wait outside and refrain from watching livestreams.

New York hearing: Trump addressed cameras, says he “should be in South Carolina right now”

Talking to cameras outside of the courtroom, Trump criticized the prosecution, saying “this is not a crime” and the case “could have been brought three years ago.”

He repeated his claims that the prosecution is politically motivated and criticized the timing of the trial during primary season, saying “how can you run for election and be sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long?” and “I should be in South Carolina right now.”

New York hearing: Trump arrives at the courtroom

Trump entered the courtroom around 9:30 a.m.

Georgia hearing: Court is in session

Court is in session and Judge Scott McAfee is on the bench.

Georgia hearing: Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin attends hearing

Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is also here sitting near the DA’s team. She posted an Instagram post last week in support of Willis.

Harrison Floyd, a former Trump campaign staffer who is a co-defendant in the case, walked into the courtroom and took a seat near Franklin. “I didn’t know they let supermodels in here,” he said.

Georgia hearing: Nathan Wade and Fani Willis’s teams arrive

David Shafer, one of Trump’s co-defendants in the case, is here with his attorney, Craig Gillen. They’re sitting at the defense table alongside Ashleigh Merchant and her husband, John.

Nathan Wade and the DA’s team just showed up. Bill Cromwell, who represents another one of the defendants, is sitting in front of me and tells me the first witness is up to the judge. But the lawyers would like to call Wade first.

New York hearing: Trump has previously lashed out at a member of the prosecution team

At the prosecution table are Susan Hoffinger, Chris Conroy, Matt Colangelo, Rebecca Mangold and Josh Steinglass.

The former president has attacked Colangelo in the past because he came from the Justice Department and previously worked with Bragg.

Steinglass is a well-respected trial lawyer who was brought onto the team that tried the Trump Organization criminal tax fraud case in the fall of 2022 and has remained a part of the Trump investigations team.

New York hearing: Prosecutor involved in Harvey Weinstein case is at hearing

Prosecutor Steven Wu is sitting in the front row. He argued yesterday at the Court of Appeals in Albany, N.Y., against Harvey Weinstein who is seeking to overturn his sexual assault verdict. Weinstein remains in jail in upstate New York.

New York hearing: DA Bragg is in the courtroom

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has entered the courtroom. He is seated in the public gallery with his team.

New York hearing: Trump is at the courthouse

Trump has arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan and entered the building a few minutes ago, an official outside of the court said.

New York hearing: Security is tight at the courthouse

Reporters lined up overnight in frigid temperatures to get a seat in the courtroom for this historic event, the first criminal prosecution of a former president.

Trump will enter the courthouse at the same entrance, the district attorney’s office on Hogan Place, that he arrived at last April for his arraignment. 

Security is extremely tight both outside and inside the courthouse, with everyone going through two sets of magnetometers before they enter the courtroom on the 15th floor of Manhattan criminal court. 

Trump did not have to be here today after Judge Juan Merchan had waived his appearance, but the former president chose to show up.

The case involves Trump’s payoff to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election, allegedly to cover up an extramarital affair, which prosecutors say amounted to an illegal campaign contribution. Trump’s attorneys say there was nothing illegal about the payment.

New York hearing: Trump is en route to the courthouse

Trump just left Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan and is expected to head to the courthouse in lower Manhattan, witnesses told NBC News. 

Georgia hearing: Judge says it’s ‘possible’ D.A. Fani Willis could be disqualified

ATLANTA — The Georgia judge presiding over the election interference case against former President Donald Trump gave the green light Monday for a hearing this week involving misconduct allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and said her disqualification from the case is “possible.”

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee made the remarks at a hearing where he denied Willis’ bid to toss out a subpoena for her testimony at the hearing Thursday, at least for now.

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With a little more than a week until South Carolina’s Republican primary, Donald Trump is expected back in Manhattan as a judge is set to decide if the former president must go to trial next month. Prosecutors are accusing him of doctoring his company’s books to bury evidence of an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election. NBC’s Laura Jarrett reports for “TODAY.”

New York hearing: Hush money case marks the first time a former president has faced criminal charges

A grand jury in New York City voted in March 2023 to indict Donald Trump — the first time a former U.S. president has faced criminal charges.

The historic indictment comes in a case centered on $130,000 in payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels claimed she slept with the married Trump in 2006, a claim he has denied. Trump had classified his reimbursement of the payout as a legal expense.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges.

Read highlights from the Manhattan arraignment here.

New York hearing: Trump to attend New York hush money case hearing Thursday

Former President Donald Trump will attend a hearing Thursday that is expected to determine a timetable for the trial in the New York hush money case against him, his lawyer said Tuesday.New York Judge Juan Merchan’s hearing on Thursday, where he will also address Trump’s motions to dismiss the case, will likely shape the first felony trial against the former president. Last year, the judge decided that the trial would begin on March 25, though that date seemed to be up in the air because of charges facing Trump in the federal election interference case.

In New York, Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential bid. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Read the full story here.