Trump's historic trial begins with jury selection

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NEW YORK – Donald Trump appeared in a New York court on Monday to begin jury selection in his money laundering trial, marking a landmark moment in American history as the former president pleaded guilty to criminal charges that he falsified business records to stifle conversations. about his sex life.

The first trial of any former US commander-in-chief comes as Trump fights to retake the White House, making for a stunning on-screen spectacle of the Republican nominee spending his days as a criminal defendant while campaigning for the presidency. He has mixed these roles over the past year, portraying himself on the campaign trail and on social media as the victim of politically motivated harassment aimed at undermining his candidacy.

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After a presidency overshadowed by years of investigations, the trial is a historic courtroom reckoning for Trump, who now faces four indictments charging him with crimes ranging from collecting classified documents to plotting to disrupt the election. However, the political stakes are less clear because a conviction does not prevent him from becoming president, and the charges in this case have been known for years and are considered less serious than the other three indictments.

Sun Judge Juan M. The proceedings began with Merchan ruling on various pretrial motions, as Trump sat slouched in his seat and looked at a monitor directly in front of him at the defense table as evidence was presented.

The judge rejected the defense's request to recuse himself from the case after Trump's lawyers claimed he had a conflict of interest. He also said prosecutors could not play to the jury a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording of Trump discussing sexually assaulting women without their consent. However, prosecutors will be allowed to question witnesses regarding the tape, which was released in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.

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When jury selection begins, many people are called into the courtroom to begin the process of finding 12 jurors, as well as six alternates. Trump's name makes jury selection a herculean task in any year, but it can be especially difficult in a hotly contested presidential election in a city that enjoyed celebrity status before Trump grew up and won. The White House.

The key issue, Merchan wrote, is “whether prospective jurors can be convinced that they will set aside any personal feelings or biases and make a decision based on the evidence and the law.”

Regardless of the outcome, Trump is determined to profit from the trial, the case and its charges elsewhere, as a “weapon of law enforcement” by Democratic prosecutors and officials. He says they are orchestrating false accusations in hopes of disrupting his presidential bid.

He has hated judges and prosecutors for years, a pattern of attacks that continued until he entered court on Monday: “This is political persecution. This is an unprecedented persecution.”

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Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, which he says stemmed from his laziness _ and false filing of stories about his sex life that emerged during the 2016 campaign.

The indictment is based on a $130,000 payment made by Trump's company to then-lawyer Michael Cohen. He paid for Trump to not go public with porn actress Stormy Daniels' allegations that she had sex with the tycoon, whom he married a decade ago, a month before the election.

Prosecutors said the payments to Cohen were falsely registered as legal fees to conceal their true purpose. Trump's lawyers say the money is legal expenses, not a cover-up.

After decades of litigation and prosecution, the businessman-turned-politician now faces up to four years in prison if convicted, but no jail time. Trump is also expected to appeal any sentence.

Trump's lawyers lost a bid to dismiss the hush money case and have since tried to delay it several times, sparking a flurry of last-minute appeals court hearings last week.

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Among other things, Trump's lawyers argue that the jury in Democratic Manhattan was tainted by negative publicity about Trump and that the case should be moved elsewhere.

An appeals judge denied an emergency motion to adjourn the hearing, and the motion for a change of venue will be sent to a panel of appeals judges to be heard in the coming weeks.

Manhattan prosecutors countered that the publicity stemmed from Trump's own comments, and that the questioning would determine whether prospective jurors could overrule any preconceived notions they may have. Prosecutors say there's no reason to think it's impossible to find 12 fair and impartial people among Manhattan's roughly 1.4 million adults.

The process of selecting those 12 and six alternates begins with multiple applications for Merchan's courtroom. They will be known only by number because he has ordered that their names be kept secret from everyone except prosecutors, Trump and their legal teams.

After hearing some background about the case and juror service, prospective jurors are asked to raise their hands if they believe they cannot serve or be fair and impartial. According to Merchan's plea last week, those who do will be forgiven.

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The rest will have the right to answer. 42 pre-approved, sometimes multi-pronged inquiries cover the background and also highlight the uniqueness of the case.

“Do you have any strong opinions or strong beliefs about former President Donald Trump or his current presidential candidacy that would prevent you from being a fair and impartial juror?” asks a question.

Others ask about attendance at Trump or anti-Trump rallies, opinions about how he is treated in the case, news sources, and more, including any “political, moral, intellectual or religious beliefs or opinions” that might “influence” a prospective juror's opinion. . approach to work.

Based on the answers, attorneys can ask a judge to remove people “for cause” if they meet certain criteria for incapacity or bias. Attorneys can also use “peremptory challenges” to terminate 10 potential jurors and two potential alternates without cause.

“If you hit everybody who's a Republican or a Democrat,” the judge noted at the February hearing, “you're going to run out of trials pretty quickly.”

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