Hush money
The former president's criminal trial is underway in Manhattan. Follow along for all the latest updates.
Former President Donald Trump spent his first day on trial as a criminal defendant lashing out at the judge and prosecutors.
Follow along for live updates as the former president's first criminal trial gets underway in New York City.
“Just four years ago I was a very popular and successful President," he wrote on Truth Social. "Tomorrow morning I’ll be in Criminal Court."
WHAT'S HAPPENING
The first criminal trial of an ex-president in U.S. history will decide whether his scheme to pay off a porn star was a crime designed to thwart election laws.
“There’s a powerful public interest to ensure this criminal trial goes forward,” the Manhattan district attorney's office argued Wednesday.
Judge Juan Merchan said the former president's arguments were "inadequate and not convincing."
"Defendant knows what he is doing, and everyone else does too," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote in a filing.
Did you know that a $468 million fine for decades of financial fraud is kind of like the crucifixion of Christ?
The Manhattan trial was set to begin in less than two weeks.