When former President Donald Trump is in New York City for his criminal hush money trial, he stays in Trump Tower, where his penthouse features glittering chandeliers, plush furniture and gold everywhere. But he spends his days in a very different environment: the drab hallways and an aging courtroom in the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse.
The historic first criminal trial of an ex-president − Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a violation of campaign finance law − can feel incongruent with the dreary surroundings.
No video cameras are allowed in the courtroom, and there are no still photos save for those typically taken of the defense table in a minute-long photo opportunity, so the millions of Americans following the trial cannot see what it actually looks like.
But USA TODAY has a seat in the courtroom. If you were there, here’s what you would feel and see:
The courthouse
The 17-story 1941 courthouse in New York City’s civic center has an art deco-style granite and limestone facade. Inside, the walls are unadorned. In addition to the usual court security checkpoint upon entering the courthouse, there’s an extra checkpoint just for the Trump trial on the 15th floor.
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It looks and feels as old as it is, and not all the bathroom stall locks work.
The “cafeteria” is a seatless, windowless room with the kind of packaged, processed snacks you’d find at a convenience store and made-to-order sandwiches that might be nothing more than bread, mayonnaise and some cold, sliced cheese.
The courtroom
Some courtrooms you see on TV have colorful carpeting and elaborate light fixtures.
Not this one.
The austere room is lined by wood panels from the floor to about the high walls’ midpoint and then plain white walls above. There are four windows on one side, but they’ve been covered by shades. The paneling behind the judge’s bench bears the metal-plated words “IN GOD WE TRUST.”
In other ways, it looks like a set from “Law & Order,” with a wooden witness stand and jury box. The prosecution and defense each get a long table. Trump is often seen sitting between his lawyers with his eyes closed − sometimes even appearing to nod off − in a chair that appears to be lined with leather.
The audience, on the other hand, sits on wooden benches. The front two rows are reserved for more members of the two trial teams or security personnel such as the Secret Service, and a back row is also generally reserved or blocked off. About 65 reporters and a handful of members of the public – typically fewer than 10 – fill the rest of the main courtroom.
Seats next to the middle aisle have been roped off, possibly for Trump’s security as he enters and exits.
The rules
Reporters and the public have to put away their phones in the courtroom, a policy enforced by security officers who patrol along the aisles. Like other defendants at the Manhattan criminal courthouse, Trump – who reportedly likes to use his phone throughout the day to follow news, talk to friends and post on social media – also has to go phone-free.
‘Everybody was freezing in there’
Because of a seemingly antiquated heating and cooling system that Judge Juan Merchan says he can’t fine-tune, the courtroom can fluctuate from warm to quite cold.
Trump has been clear that’s not up to his standards.
“I’m sitting here for days now, from morning till night in that freezing room. Freezing. Everybody was freezing in there,” he said to reporters in the hallway on April 18.
The room really can be cold, causing reporters to sometimes keep their winter coats on, but Trump has complained even on days when it was relatively mild.
Famous faces inside the courtroom
Trump has referred to himself as a “star,” and his trial has brought a few other famous people to the courtroom.
George Conway, ex-husband of Trump 2016 campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and a thorn in Trump’s side on Twitter, has been a regular at the trial; he is writing about it for The Atlantic.
MSNBC television host Rachel Maddow lined up early for opening statements on Monday, April 22. Maddow’s colleague, MSNBC television host Joy Reid, was there the next day as the prosecution’s first witness, former tabloid publisher David Pecker, testified.
The characters
Merchan quietly controls the courtroom. He hasn’t raised his voice, but he has adopted a stern tone that may help him keep lawyers and defendants in check.
Like many judges, however, Merchan is gentle toward jurors. When one prospective juror confessed to a criminal history, he explained she may be able to serve in the future. After she left, he asked reporters to “be kind” in our coverage.
After one prospective juror was questioned and then exited the courtroom during jury selection, Merchan said he heard Trump making comments in her presence, although he couldn’t make out the content.
“I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom,” the judge told Trump lawyer Todd Blanche. “Speak to your client,” Merchan sternly instructed.
While lawyers for both sides have seemed adept at offering legal reasoning to Merchan, Trump’s team has been chided by the judge when it advanced arguments Merchan found farcical.
“You’re losing all credibility with the court,” Merchan told Blanche on April 23, after Blanche said his client was working hard to comply with the judge’s gag order. On Tuesday, Merchan held Trump in criminal contempt after finding Trump has violated the gag order nine times through social media posts and other online statements attacking potential witnesses and commenting on the jury. Merchan scheduled a hearing for Thursday morning to address four more possible violations.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has sometimes been in the courtroom supporting his trial staff, even though he hasn’t participated directly in the lawyering since opening statements. Bragg sits in the first rows of benches.
Why binoculars come in handy
Several television screens in the front half of the courtroom show video feeds of the two trial teams, the judge and the witness box, but not the jury. Small monitors on the trial team tables also show those feeds, and Trump sometimes appears to be watching the monitor in front of him.
With binoculars pointed at the screen, you can see if Trump’s eyes are closed.
Sketch artists also seem to use visual aids to get a closer look at the people they’re depicting.
Trump-centered photos
New York courts typically don’t allow cameras to broadcast proceedings from the courtroom, and the Trump trial is no exception.
But the judge has allowed about five photographers to come in briefly each morning and take photographs of Trump seated at the defense table. They don’t seem to take photos of prosecutors, and the judge typically comes in after they leave.
Many might be uneasy with that kind of rapid-fire photographer onslaught. But the celebrity-turned-president seems comfortable and posed, as if he knows instinctively the unhappy facial expression and rigid body language he wants to give off.
Notable absences
Melania Trump has not been in the courtroom at all as her husband faces his criminal trial, which involves allegations − denied by Trump − that he had multiple affairs around the time of her pregnancy with Barron Trump. The trial’s third week saw the first appearance of one of Trump’s children: Eric Trump accompanied his father in court Tuesday, sitting in the first bench behind the defense table.
The former president said Friday that his wife was in Florida, which is now Trump’s primary residence when he isn’t on trial.
Outside the courtroom
Down the hallway from the main courtroom, more reporters and members of the public are seated in a courtroom-turned-overflow-room that has video screens with live streaming of the proceedings. Unlike in the main courtroom, cellphone use is permitted there, although no audio or visual recording is allowed.Typically, everyone who has shown up in the morning has at least gotten a spot in the overflow room, according to court spokesperson Al Baker.
In between the overflow room and the main courtroom, a metal pen has been set up for reporters. Trump often approaches a separate metal barrier facing the pen to express his feelings before and after court days, or during breaks in the day.
“The judge should terminate the case because they have no case,” Trump said Tuesday morning before entering the courtroom. “I’m gonna go into the icebox now,” he added. The courtroom was fairly warm on Tuesday.
