Donald Trump arrived Monday at a New York court for the start of jury selection in his hush-money trial, marking a singular moment in US history as the former prez answers to criminal charges that he falsified business records in order to stifle stories about his sex life.
The first trial of any former US commander in chief will unfold as Trump vies to reclaim the White House, creating a remarkable split-screen spectacle of the presumptive Republican nominee spending his days as a criminal defendant while also campaigning for the presidency.
The judge, Juan Merchan, kicked off the trial by announcing his decision to remain on the case, rejecting Trump’s effort to oust him. Trump has twice sought Merchan’s recusal, citing his daughter’s work as a Democratic political consultant. But Merchan has declined to step aside, noting a ruling by a judicial ethics commission that found his daughter’s work posed no conflict for him. “There is no agenda here.”
Then, in a ruling that favoured the former prez, Merchan rejected the prosecution’s request to play for the jury the 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump was captured discussing grabbing women sexually without their permission. The judge called it ” complete gossip”, adding that it’s “not fair.” However, prosecutors will be allowed to question witnesses about the recording, which became public in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.
The trial will officially begin with jury selection – the monumental task of selecting the 12 people who will decide Trump’s fate. Though the case is regarded by some legal experts as the least consequential of the four criminal prosecutions he faces, it is the only one guaranteed to go to trial before the Nov. 5 election. If convicted, Trump could still hold office but Reuters/Ipsos polling shows a guilty verdict could hobble his prospects.
Jury selection could last two weeks or more, and the trial may spill into June. The spectacle will be remarkable: an ex-prez face-to-face with a part of his past that he has tried to bury. In 2016, Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about a story of having had sex with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the sexual encounter.
In the courtroom, prosecutors asked Merchan to fine Trump $3,000 over social media posts they say violated a March 26 gag order that bars Trump from commenting on witnesses. Last week, Trump used his Truth Social platform to call Cohen and Daniels “two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!”
The first trial of any former US commander in chief will unfold as Trump vies to reclaim the White House, creating a remarkable split-screen spectacle of the presumptive Republican nominee spending his days as a criminal defendant while also campaigning for the presidency.
The judge, Juan Merchan, kicked off the trial by announcing his decision to remain on the case, rejecting Trump’s effort to oust him. Trump has twice sought Merchan’s recusal, citing his daughter’s work as a Democratic political consultant. But Merchan has declined to step aside, noting a ruling by a judicial ethics commission that found his daughter’s work posed no conflict for him. “There is no agenda here.”
Then, in a ruling that favoured the former prez, Merchan rejected the prosecution’s request to play for the jury the 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump was captured discussing grabbing women sexually without their permission. The judge called it ” complete gossip”, adding that it’s “not fair.” However, prosecutors will be allowed to question witnesses about the recording, which became public in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.
The trial will officially begin with jury selection – the monumental task of selecting the 12 people who will decide Trump’s fate. Though the case is regarded by some legal experts as the least consequential of the four criminal prosecutions he faces, it is the only one guaranteed to go to trial before the Nov. 5 election. If convicted, Trump could still hold office but Reuters/Ipsos polling shows a guilty verdict could hobble his prospects.
Jury selection could last two weeks or more, and the trial may spill into June. The spectacle will be remarkable: an ex-prez face-to-face with a part of his past that he has tried to bury. In 2016, Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about a story of having had sex with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the sexual encounter.
In the courtroom, prosecutors asked Merchan to fine Trump $3,000 over social media posts they say violated a March 26 gag order that bars Trump from commenting on witnesses. Last week, Trump used his Truth Social platform to call Cohen and Daniels “two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!”