Trump ‘falls asleep in court’

Donald Trump appeared to fall asleep in court on the first day of his hush money case as he became the first US president to stand criminal trial.

Mr Trump seemingly dozed off on Monday morning in the New York courtroom as his lawyers clashed with prosecutors over what evidence would be admissible.

The former president has been charged with falsifying business records ahead of the 2016 election to cover up a $130,000 (£104,000) payment made to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star.

Mr Trump allegedly authorised the payment to hide an affair with her and influence the election result. He has pleaded not guilty and denied having a relationship with Ms Daniels.

The New York Times reported that Mr Trump appeared to fall asleep just hours into the trial, with his head dropping down before he jolted awake. He seemed more alert after lunch, and spoke animatedly with his lawyers.

The 77-year-old – who frequently calls Joe Biden “Sleepy Joe” – will be required to attend court four days a week for the rest of the trial.

The proceedings are expected to last six weeks, and will see a parade of Mr Trump’s former aides, allies and alleged mistresses take to the witness stand against the former president.

On Monday, prosecutors argued that Mr Trump had repeatedly flouted a gag order intended to protect witnesses and jurors in the days before the trial began.

The court heard that Mr Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee ahead of November’s election, attempted to intimidate key witnesses by labelling them “sleazebags”.

Cohen credibility

Joshua Steinglass, acting for the prosecution, claimed that the former president had mounted a “thinly veiled attempt to intimidate” Ms Daniels and Michael Cohen, his former lawyer, to “keep [them] off this stand”.

At one point, the prosecution suggested he may have violated the gag order from inside the courthouse, referring to a post on Mr Trump’s Truth Social account that branded Mr Cohen a “serial perjurer”.

In recent days, Mr Trump also called his former lawyer a “disgraced attorney and felon”. Mr Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for tax evasion and campaign finance violations.

The credibility of Mr Cohen may be a key factor in the case as he testifies for the government against his former boss.

Just days before the 2016 election, Mr Cohen made a $130,000 payment to Ms Daniels, who claims she had a sexual encounter with Mr Trump in 2006. 

Mr Trump allegedly reimbursed Mr Cohen in 2017 and reported the reimbursement as legal fees.

Hope Hicks, a long-time Trump aide, is expected to testify against her former boss. 

Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model with whom Mr Trump allegedly had an affair before buying her silence, is another likely witness.

‘Assault on America’

Media helicopters followed Mr Trump’s motor convoy as he left Trump Tower and headed for the court in Lower Manhattan.

Although his mandatory court appearances mean he cannot take to the campaign trail, he used the court as a backdrop to a stump speech, claiming he was being persecuted by Mr Biden.

The presumptive Republican nominee told reporters he was “proud to be” at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, before claiming Mr Biden was using the trial as “an attack on a political opponent”. He added: “It’s an assault on America.”

He then headed in to take his seat. Photographs and sketches of Mr Trump in court showed him flanked by his lawyers, with his brow furrowed and hands clasped on the table in front of him.