Trump cancels rally in North Carolina due to storm ahead of opening statements in criminal trial: Live updates

The city of New York is “crime-ridden and dying,” according to Donald Trump. He has called a criminal case against him a “mess,” the judge hopelessly “conflicted,” and the prosecutor a “thug.” The former president’s attorneys claim that the entire borough of Manhattan is “overwhelmingly biased” against him.

On Monday 15 April, Donald Trump made history as the first current or former president ever to be criminally prosecuted in America, as he went on trial in Manhattan on charges of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to an adult film star before the 2016 presidential election.

Though the former president is charged with falsifying business records, Mr Bragg alleges that this was only part of a wider “catch and kill” scheme that Mr Trump engaged in to suppress negative stories as he campaigned – successfully – for the White House in 2016.

The historic trial may last up to two months and features testimony from several key players involved in the case.

Here The Independent breaks down who’s who in the trial:

A teacher, two lawyers and people working in finance are among the jurors tasked with hearing the first-ever criminal trial against a US president.

Mr Trump has repeatedly tried, and failed, to move the case out of the borough, where he baselessly smeared the borough as hopelessly biased against him.

And so, during jury selection in the trial, he sat and heard firsthand from a group of Manhattan residents who pledged that they would be fair and impartial in hearing the case against him.

Melania Trump has returned to the campaign trail in support of her husband’s 2024 run, hosting a fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans group on Saturday at her Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.

The group describes itself as “the nation’s largest Republican organisation dedicated to representing LGBT conservatives and allies”.

The event’s host committee includes Republican donors Saul Fox and Amanda Schumacher and Richard Grenell – who served as the 45th president’s ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence – as well as Elizabeth Ailes and Deborah Magowan, the widows of Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan respectively.

Mr Grenell posted pictures of the event to his Instagram account:

Five final alternate jurors were selected on Friday, concluding a four-day week of jury selection to begin the first-ever criminal trial of an American president.

The former president, craning his neck to watch a final pool of potential jurors, leaned forward in his chair and scribbled notes at the defence table as a group of Manhattan residents were quizzed about their opinions of him.

“I believe we have a full panel,” New York Justice Juan Merchan told the courtroom on Friday afternoon, after seating five alternates.

Alex Woodward explains what happens next:

The New York Post has roasted Marjorie Taylor Greene over her opposition to aid for Ukraine to help defend itself against Russia. Using a quote from former Republican Rep Ken Buck, the News Corp-owned tabloid — famous for its front pages — refers to the Georgia Republican rep as “Moscow Marjorie”.

Here’s Mr Buck on CNN on Friday explaining that Ms Greene is “just mouthing the Russian propaganda”:

The Georgia lawmaker has fought vociferously against aiding the US ally in its fight against Vladimir Putin’s war — now in its second year.

On Saturday she was furious after the House of Representatives passed the $60bn aid package for Ukraine, which heads to the Senate on Tuesday.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem — currently auditioning to be Donald Trump’s running mate — tells CNN’s Dana Bash that she would still support the former president even if he was criminally convicted.

Attorneys for Donald Trump told a judge overseeing the former president’s hush money trial on Friday that Manhattan prosecutors are merely trying to “distract” jurors and “pile things on” by introducing evidence from his string of other criminal and civil cases.

New York Justice Juan Merchan presided over a hearing to outline what prosecutors intend to ask Mr Trump if he chooses to testify at his criminal trial, including a defamation case and allegations of sexual abuse, a massive civil fraud judgment finding him liable for tens of millions of dollars, felony convictions targeting his business, and the dissolution of a namesake foundation used to boost his presidential campaign.

But the judge said that prosecutors’ request falls within the grounds of the so-called Sandoval hearing, during which a defendant with a history of misconduct or criminal acts who also plans to testify in his defence knows what they could be walking into.

Donald Trump was forced to cancel his scheduled rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, as skies darkened and a rain storm approached the airport.

It was his first planned rally since the start of his criminal hush money trial.

Mr Trump called into the rally site near the Wilmington airport less than an hour before he was scheduled to take the stage and apologised to a few thousand supporters who had gathered throughout.

“I’m devastated that this could happen but we want to keep everybody safe,” MrTrump said, as his message was amplified by speakers to his supporters.

“I think we’re gonna have to just do a rain check. I’m so sad,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Trump promised a “bigger and better” rally to around 7,000 and 8,000 people who had gathered at the Aero Center at Wilmington airport.

John Bowden in Washington, DC reporting for The Independent writes:

Lawmakers in Washington DC have finally passed military aid for Ukraine through the GOP-controlled House following months of delays.

The $60.8bn package, part of a three-part national security supplemental that passed the Senate in February, now heads back to the upper chamber for a final vote on Tuesday.

It then heads to Joe Biden’s desk for signature. Republicans and Democrats in the upper chamber pressed their House colleagues to pass the legislation for months, citing Ukraine’s increasingly desperate situation, but the lower chamber took its time and quibbled over the bill’s intricacies, eventually splitting it into three parts and turning much of the aid to Ukraine into a loan system.

Even with that change it was a political defeat for Republicans in the House, who took public criticism from GOP members of the Senate including Mitch McConnell for weeks and eventually passed the legislation while relying on Democratic support to see it past the finish line.

Worse, Speaker Mike Johnson comes out of this ordeal at the lowest point of his speakership (so far).