Jury selection in New York for the criminal trial against former US President Donald Trump began on Monday, for a case in which he is accused of conspiring to conceal hush payments to cover up alleged extramarital affairs, just before his successful 2016 campaign for the White House.
It was a moment like no other in American history, in which Trump became the first former American president to face criminal charges and the threat of prison, if convicted.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchán called 96 potential jurors into his courtroom to begin questioning them about whether they had any bias for or against Trump and whether they could render a fair verdict in the case, regardless. his views on the country's 45th president.
More than 50, an unusually large number, raised their hands because they said they could not be impartial and were immediately recused.
Merchán was not expected to ask jurors specifically how they voted in Trump's 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.
Rather, among 42 questions, he planned to ask them what sources they trust to watch and listen to the day's news, whether they have attended political rallies for Trump or those who oppose him, and whether they belong to controversial groups that oppose the actions of the federal government.
The selection of 12 jurors and six alternates could take several days. Merchán adjourned the case for a day after questioning 10 potential jurors.
At the beginning of the morning session, Merchán quickly rejected for the second time an attempt by the Trump's lawyers to recuse themselves from the case because they considered it allegedly biased against the former president.
The judge heard several legal arguments about the evidence in the case and issued rulings that favored both sides. Then, hours later, he summoned the first potential jurors, some of whom went out of their way to scrutinize Trump.
About 500 New Yorkers were called as potential jurors and would be questioned later, if necessary, to complete the jury.
Merchán introduced Trump and the lawyers in the case and said the trial could last six weeks.
Arriving at the courthouse, Trump told reporters: “This is a persecution like never before. “It is an assault on the United States and that is why I am very proud to be here.” Shortly afterward, his current presidential campaign sent out a fundraising appeal referencing the case.
The presumptive Republican presidential contender in the November election watched the proceedings from the defendant's table, flanked by his lawyers. He appeared to fall asleep at some points during the proceedings in the afternoon, before regaining attention.
Over time, Trump may or may not take the stand to defend himself, depending on how he and his lawyers view prosecutors' evidence.
Trump, president of the United States from early 2017 until January 2021, has repeatedly attacked his prosecution and criticized Merchán.
Trump complained on his Truth Social platform last week: “Nothing like this has ever happened in our country before. On Monday I will be forced to sit, gagged, before a highly confrontational and corrupt judge, whose hatred towards me knows no limits.”
Given that he is due to appear in court, the case will almost certainly keep the 77-year-old candidate off the campaign trail for long periods of time.
Trump is trying to take back the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden, who defeated him in the 2020 election, although Trump to this day falsely claims that he was robbed of another four-year term due to voting irregularities.
The arguments of the prosecution
Trump is accused of hiding a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election to prevent her from speaking publicly about her claim that she had a one-night stand with him at a celebrity golf tournament one night. decade earlier, less than four months after Trump's wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron.
In a second case, the prosecution alleges that a former Playboy bunny, Karen McDougal, says she had a month-long affair with Trump and was paid $150,000 by a tabloid publisher who bought the rights to her story and then, at her behest, of Trump, deleted the article.
Trump has denied both affairs and the 34 charges he faces in the New York case, including that he ordered his former political fixer, convicted perjurer Michael Cohen, to make the payment to Daniels and then reimburse him during the first year. of his presidency in 2017, while labeling Cohen's monthly stipends in Trump's business records as legal expenses.
Altering his company's accounting books would be a misdemeanor, but to convict Trump of a more serious crime, prosecutors will have to convince jurors that he committed an underlying crime, such as trying to influence the outcome of the election. 2016 allegedly maintaining information on voter issues.
It is not illegal to pay hush money, and Trump can claim that the payments were made simply to prevent disclosure of personally compromising moments in his life, not to try to influence the 2016 election.
The eventual 12-member jury will have to reach a unanimous decision for a guilty or acquittal verdict. If one or more jurors cannot reach an agreement with the remaining jurors, the jury will be hung and no decision will be made.
Each of the charges carries the possibility of a four-year prison sentence, although Trump is sure to appeal any guilty verdict and sentence.
The New York case is one of four unprecedented criminal indictments that Trump faces, covering 88 charges, all of which he has denied.
Some legal analysts view the hush money case as the least significant of the four cases he faces. But he is also possibly the only one who will go to trial before the Nov. 5 election.
Two of the other allegations accuse Trump of attempting to illegally overturn his 2020 defeat, while the third alleges that he illegally took hundreds of highly classified national security documents to his oceanfront estate in Florida when his presidential term ended, and he then refused investigators' requests to return them.
No firm trial dates have been set in any of these three cases, all delayed by pretrial hearings and legal arguments. Trump has tried to push back the start dates until after the election. If he wins, he could ask to have the federal charges dismissed.
In any case, if he takes power again, he would not be tried during his presidency. Cohen, who turned against his former boss, is expected to be a key witness against Trump. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges in the case and lying to Congress, among other crimes. In total, he was incarcerated for about 13 and a half months and spent a year and a half in home confinement.
Stormy Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, is also expected to testify. McDougal could also testify.
Prosecutors could also call Hope Hicks to the witness stand. Hicks is a veteran Trump loyalist who witnessed behind-the-scenes campaign strategies just before the 2016 vote.
Trump has criticized the bribery charges since he was impeached a year ago, alleging that those and other accusations leveled against him are part of a plot by Biden and Democrats to prevent him from winning the White House again. He calls it “Election Interference.”
There is no evidence that Biden played any role in the accusations Trump faces.
Trump complained when Judge Merchán first imposed a gag order prohibiting him from verbally attacking key officials in the case who were likely to testify against him, including Daniels, whom Trump has often called “horseface.”
On his Truth Social platform, Trump then attacked the judge's daughter, Loren Merchán, who is a key official at a political consulting firm that worked for the 2020 campaigns of Biden and other Democrats.
“This judge should be recused and the case should be dismissed,” Trump said. “There has practically never been a more confrontational judge than this one. “Electoral interference at its worst!”
Merchán ignored Trump's mockery, but toughened the gag order, prohibiting him from attacking the judge's relatives or those of the case's lead prosecutor, Alvin Bragg.
Merchán said the gag orders against Trump were justified given his conduct in other recent court cases, citing “threatening, inflammatory and denigrating” statements he has made.
Trump says the gag order restricts his freedom of expression.
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