However, standard law allows the accused to face his accuser(s).
He was tried for breaking the bank fraud laws of the State of New York. His accuser was the State.
And there's no law that the accused must "face the accuser". How would a murder trial work if that were the case? Or drunk driving?
Must? There is law that requires the accuser to face the accused if the accused requires such. If nowhere else, this law is found wrapped up with the word "acceptance," which is a legal term.
How does something like this work? The accused is not required to accept (acceptance) that he is the person on the indictment. It's obvious that the man or woman is not some paperwork name. But if the accused accepts the position of being the 'person' on the indictment, chances are that the court will accept such.
Then it becomes a question of representation; the person on the indictment represents the accused. In Trump's case, he accepted representation when he became a client of his attorneys. But in general, acceptance of representation is something that is not required.
In a case where the accused is a man or woman who has NOT accepted representation, there must be a man or woman accuser. The accuser must have first hand knowledge of the accusation, to be able to accuse correctly. But the accuser must be properly named on the indictment, and the accused must properly be name on the indictment, which Trump is not.
Regarding Trump, he has accepted representation by and through his attorneys. This means that he has handed the judgment over to the attorneys and the judge. The case is no longer Trump's case as far as actual disputing goes. By accepting attorney-client relationship by signed contract, he has given the court complete authority over himself.
However, at any moment Trump can dissolve the contract between himself and his attorneys. This would place him back into the position of being able to NOT accept being the person on the indictment. If Trump did this, who would his accuser be? He would not be accused, and certainly not if there was improper wording on the indictment - as there is on this indictment if it is to refer to a man rather than a person.
In other words, Trump could say, "It isn't me on the indictment." But he can't say this if he has accepted representation by his attorneys, because then it is their fight.
Why would Trump be able to make something like, "It isn't me on the indictment," to be effective? "Mistake of Fact, and "Mistake of Law" are legal terms. The law can't knowingly make mistakes about fact or law. But it would be making a mistake if Trump was not the person on the indictment, and if he didn't accept representation.
If Judge Merchan didn't accept Trump doing something like this, Trump could file "fraud on the court" paperwork with a higher court, and depending on the way Judge Merchan rejected Trump's doings, "fraud on the court by the court."
The point is that Trump has options. Simply filing "fraud on the court by the court" with a higher court could get his sentencing postponed until after the election. As far as we go, this is something that is beyond the scope of this forum contemplation. There are details that we don't know about and therefore, can't consider... even if we understand the law.