Trump will share the judicial process with the election campaign and personal defence

Donald Trump, humiliated before American society by having to appear before a federal court just like any other criminal suspect, declared himself innocent of the 37 serious charges against him and, according to those present in the courtroom, he was at all times contemptuous and in some cases impertinent. His sole lawyer (others declined at the last minute to share the defence) corroborated his innocence, but paradoxically acknowledged the authenticity of some secret documents, which were found in his Mar-a-Lago residence and are the grounds for the charges against him. 

The hearing, held in Florida Federal Court, was the beginning of a long process of investigations, verifications, probably convictions and appeals that will visibly drag on for several months. The New York Times considers it unlikely that the defence of so many serious unconstitutional violations will succeed. He is the first former president to have gone through this ordeal, and at the end of the hearing on his way back to his residence, he stopped the motorcade that preceded him in front of a bakery to buy the bread he apparently likes best. 

Apart from this anecdote, and the picturesque details of his attitudes during the arraignment, the most surprising thing is that his pre-trial situation does not prevent him from continuing his campaign in the primaries for next year's elections in which he intends to regain the presidency. Yesterday's appearance was one of his arguments to further inflame his supporters. For the moment, he has 70 legal days for the government to vouch for the authenticity of the documents he illegally removed when he left the White House and which now form the basis for his incrimination. 

The trial of the most controversial ex-president in history is of great interest to the media, politicians and citizens in the United States. The Republican Party is increasingly divided between the senators and representatives who remain on his side and those who aspire to get rid of this burden as soon as possible. But what is most curious and representative of the patriotic sense of many Americans is that quite a few Democrats are critical of the process, arguing that it is projecting a bad image of the country to the world.