Here’s a List of the 12 Days of Donald Trump’s Court Appearances of 2023

Donald Trump's Appearance In Court From The Begining To His Most Recent

Former President Donald Trump has actively found himself basking in the spotlight through this year. Ever since he announced his re-run for President in the upcoming 2024 Presidential Elections, he’s been as busy as a bee. He’s truly had quite a year given the many turn of events that have unfolded over time. However, a highlight of the former President was his slew of indictments and legal matters that have continued to pile on with each passing week. Although he’s been absent from the GOP debates, he’s been ever-present for his visits to court. He’s being carefully pursued by the Department of Justice, particularly Special Council Jack Smith based on many charges. The case that has beckoned him to court most often is his Civil Fraud Case Trial which is being held in New York and is set to have its closing arguments on the 11th of January 2024. Take a look at the timeline of his 12 court appearances and what took place during each visit as per CBS News: 

1. Day One - April 4th

The first day is perhaps the most crucial day for both the defence and the prosecution to make their case as it sets the ethos and tone of it all. Given Trump’s flamboyant reputation and the many fans who were eagerly looking forward to the commencement of the case, the atmosphere was electric! Trump found himself at a Manhattan Criminal Courthouse surrounded by security on all sides. He holds the title of becoming the first-ever former President to take the stand as an alleged criminal on trial. To kick things off, he uttered the words: “Not guilty” causing the courthouse to erupt in whispers. Moreover, he denied every single allegation against him including the 34 felony counts based on falsification of business records with an inkling of some alleged “hush money” in connection with the Elections in 2016.

2. Day Two- June 13th

Now that the foundation of the case was set, next came an important part to avoid chaos and confusion: confidentiality of information. Trump has been known to be rather expressive when it comes to his thoughts and opinions. This is why as a precaution, the court urged him to remain mum on the contents discussed within the walls of the court. Additionally, he was also sternly ordered against discussing matters with his co-defendant Walt Nauta. To witness this, about 7 golden members from the general public and specially permitted reporters from reputed publications were allowed to enter the courthouse. The twice-impeached former President officially entered a not-guilty plea for 37 Felony charges followed by three others in August. This was concerning the Classified Documents case. Likewise, Nauta too deemed himself not guilty in connection to the case. 

3. Day Three - August 3rd

Moving on to day three, Trump found himself surrounded by a similar vibe of security, reporters hounding him for information and several federal judges within the court. The only difference this time was that he was not in Manhattan but in a different place, the beating heart of every politician: Washington D.C.The former President was being watched like a hawk by many federal judges who were silent observers at the back of the court. Furthermore, he entered four more ‘Not Guilty’ pleas concerning events that unfolded on January 6th during the 2020 Elections.

4. Day Four - October 2nd

Here’s where things get dicey and intense, and it’s only day four! It was time for both sides to deliver their opening statements as the Civil Fraud Case trial was reportedly “unprecedented”. Meaning, that Trump was accused of fraud and was now against New York Attorney General Letitia James. If found guilty, James demanded the businessman to pay about $250 Million in damages. However, mere days before the trial could commence Judge Arthur Engoron reportedly found Trump and his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump liable for fraud. This caused a domino effect in the case. From allegations of falsifying evidence to conspiracy theories and insurance fraud, everything began to bubble and slowly boil over. During brief recesses, Trump’s administration was seen recording the former President’s comments made outside of court about the case, and soon those very same comments found their way to social media.

5. Day Five - October 3rd

The very next day, Trump had to deal with the aftermath of his actions of doing something he was specifically asked not to do: discuss the contents of the case with the media, the public, or anyone else. Trump reportedly published negative posts on social media platforms that slammed not just Judge Engoron but also his clerk in attending. This did not sit well with the judge as it prompted him to issue a gag order. This meant that he wasn’t allowed to comment about any member of within court either. 

6. Day Six - 4th October

Actions do have consequences and that rule wasn’t an exception for the former President considering he now had a gag order to adhere to. But, things may have gotten too intense for Trump on day 6 as he reportedly stormed out of court right in the middle of the afternoon, amid the trial! He simply got up out of his chair, turned around, ignoring the Judge’s warnings and protests, and walked outside. He then turned to the eagerly waiting press and declared: “The Donald Trump Show is over.” Well, it really wasn’t and he still had to explain the scenario to the Judge who later warned him against such an act again. 

7. Day Seven - October 17th

Once things had cooled down from before, Trump and his legal team geared up for Michael Cohen - a witness in his New York and Civil Case trials. As per the sources, Cohen was an alleged “fixer” for Trump but then transitioned into someone he doesn’t get along with anymore. Although Trump’s legal team appeared elated to go head to head against Cohen, they were met with disappointment after being informed of Cohen’s condition - he was unwell. That day, Trump was bombarded with question after question, evidence, a bunch of emails, notes, and more. While this greatly irked him, Attorney James strongly claimed this was the prosecution's ethos and was vital to the way the case proceeds. 

8. Day Eight - October 18th 

A very frustrated Trump entered the court the next day and was rather expressive throughout the proceeding of the day. Not only was his irritation projected towards the judge, but even the witnesses and audience could feel his alleged wrath that day. Things looked eerie and glum but suddenly got intense after he could no longer maintain his composure. Trump reportedly shook his head in disappointment and threw his hands in the air while listening to what Judge Engoron and James’ team had to say. He was seen complaining to his legal team during the proceeding. What’s more, is that he believed the entire situation was “like Perry Mason.” 

9. Day Nine - October 25th 

At last! The day Trump had been waiting for: meeting Cohen. The former President was elated on seeing his former work buddy from the Trump Organization in court while making his case. That day, Cohen made strong remarks against the businessman claiming he was often ordered to “fix” financial records to arrive at a predetermined value. Trump appeared baffled by the claims and showed minimum reaction to this. While Trump was indeed silent, his defense and the prosecution were going at it from different angles to make their case. Furthermore, at one point, Cohen’s response: “Asked and answered” was duly noted by Trump’s lawyers. They retorted by saying: “This witness is out of control your honor!” 

10. Day Ten - October 26th 

Once Cohen had his go, the next day it was Trump’s turn to take the stand and briefly testify as per Judge Engoron’s orders. While Trump might’ve anticipated speaking up against allegations made by Cohen who was still in the courtroom, there was an entirely different reason. Previously, the former President had reportedly passed yet another comment on social media about a member of the court whom he described as “a person who is very partisan sitting alongside Engoron.” After the Judge enquired about the person, Trump under oath claimed he was talking about Cohen. Earlier, he was fined about $5000 for breaching rules of a gag order. For the post on social media, he got slammed with a fine of $10,000. 

11. Day Eleven - November 6th

On this day, a disgruntled Trump was asked to take the witness stand for further questioning from both the prosecution and his legal team. Like before, he was asked a plethora of questions concerning the case and his alleged involvement with them under oath. The one noteworthy factor was how the former President was reportedly deflecting the questions and offering a lengthy elaboration of his responses. Moreover, he continued to rant about the injustice that befalls him from opposing forces. Additionally, this earned him a few warnings from Engoron who cautioned him about the aftermath of his words. 

12. Day 12 - December 7th

This was the former President's most recent visit to a courthouse, just before Christmas. At this juncture, there weren’t many who turned up at court in comparison to the beginning. There were fewer people as per reports. But the amount of people within or outside of court didn’t really bother him before, and it sure didn’t affect him that day. Trump’s legal team called its’ final expert witness, Eli Bartov who claimed there was “no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud.” Furthermore, the expert witness went on to label the entire case as “absurd”. Previously, Trump was supposed to take the stand once more, but after listening to Bartov claim his financial statements were “transparent” and "awesome”, perhaps he didn’t see a point in taking the stand. A patiently listening Engoron wrote in a concluding statement: “All that his [Bartov’s] testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to.”