Trump’s hush-money trial underway
No jurors selected, former president blasts proceedings
Wearing his signature blue suit and red tie, former President Donald J. Trump addressed the media as he walked into a Manhattan courthouse and toward history — probably not for the last time — becoming the first former U.S. president to ever to stand as a defendant in a criminal proceeding.
“This is an assault on America. Nothing like this has ever happened before. There’s never been anything like it. Every legal scholar said this case is nonsense, it should have been brought,” the 45th President of the United States said.
“There is no case,” Trump said. “This is an outrage that this case was brought.”
Trump, 77, is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The former president, who is free on bond pending the results of trial, has pleaded “not guilty” to those charges.
The case of the People of the State of New York versus Donald Trump began on Monday, when dozens of potential jurors were interviewed and half excused, after telling acting justice of the State Supreme Court Juan Merchan they would be unable to remain unbiased through proceedings involving the presumptive Republican nominee as he defends himself against allegations he falsified his business records to cover up hush-money payments to a porn-star former mistress.
The first order of business yesterday was dealing with efforts by Trump’s legal team to see Merchan removed from the case. Trump spent the weeks leading up to the trial claiming the judge, due to his daughter’s past work with Democratic candidates, would be unable to oversee a fair trial. Merchan declined to remove himself.
Next came last minute evidentiary proceedings. Merchan allowed prosecutors to admit Trump’s infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, but only as a written transcript and not as audio or video. The so-called “catch and kill” deal he allegedly made with a tabloid publisher to kill a story in exchange for money, was met with skepticism by the judge, who told prosecutors from Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg’s office they must provide proof of such a scheme. Dozens of other sexual misconduct allegations made against the former president were not admissible; Merchan called them “hearsay.”
Trump, as New York criminal defendants are, was warned he could be jailed if his outbursts interrupt court proceedings and that a warrant would be issued for his arrest if he failed to appear for trial. He was asked if he understood these rules.
“I do,” the leading contender in the 2024 presidential election told the judge.
Prosecutors asked for Trump to be fined over his alleged failure to follow the court’s gag order, which bars him from attacking potential witnesses, and to warn Trump of potential incarceration if he violates the order again. The judge ordered a hearing on the matter for April 24.
“The trial is now upon us, the jury is in the hallway,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said, before 96 Manhattan adults joined their former president in the court room early Monday afternoon.
Roughly two hours later, with no jurors selected, the court adjourned for the day. The trial is expected to last up to eight weeks. Trump remains free on bail from further charges out of Georgia, and on cashless bond from federal charges in Washington and Florida.