Trump appears virtually in Manhattan’s criminal trial

Donald J. Trump will appear virtually in a courtroom in Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon to hear directly about certain restrictions on his actions related to the criminal case against him.

It is Trump’s first time in court since April, when 34 charges were filed against him by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. At Tuesday’s appearance, the judge overseeing the case, Judge Juan Merchan, will tell Mr Trump about restrictions on his use of material from the case.

Prosecutors working for the District Attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, asked that Trump’s access to certain file material be restricted and asked Judge Merchan to prohibit the former president from distributing the prosecution’s evidence, including records of interviews with witnesses and testimony from the grand jury. on social media or to reporters.

Trump’s lawyers fought that request, but at a hearing earlier this month, Judge Merchan said he would grant it. However, he stressed that Mr. Trump would be free to speak on the “vast majority of the evidence.”

Prosecutors also requested that Mr. Trump personally read the terms of the restrictions — which are contained in a document called a protection order — at that hearing. Judge Merchan agreed to a virtual appearance and scheduled the hearing for Tuesday.

Mr. Trump is not expected to speak substantively at the New York State Supreme Court hearing, which is likely to be relatively short. Of course, the former president, who will be at the hearing by video from Florida, does not always live up to expectations.

The charges against Mr. Trump stem from a payment of hush money to a porn star on his behalf during the 2016 campaign. The payment was made by Mr. Trump’s former fixer, Michael D. Cohen; after winning the presidency, Mr. Trump repaid Mr. Cohen by signing nine of the eleven checks used to pay him back. Prosecutors say Mr Trump’s family business, the Trump Organization, subsequently created false records to justify the payments, saying they were made to reimburse Mr Cohen for legal services.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers are trying to move the case from state court to federal court, likely a long haul. A federal judge will consider their request at a hearing in federal court on June 27.