Trump’s N.Y. criminal trial begins; no jurors chosen on Day 1
NEW YORK — The first criminal trial of a U.S. president officially began Monday as prosecutors and defense lawyers convened in a Manhattan courtroom to start selecting the jury that will decide Donald Trump’s fate.
The initial pool of prospective jurors dwindled rapidly. More than half of the first group of 96 were dismissed in short order after indicating they did not believe they could be impartial. Court adjourned for the day roughly two hours after jury selection began, with zero jurors chosen.
Before beginning the arduous process of choosing a jury for the landmark trial — on allegations that Trump falsified documents to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn actor — the judge overseeing the case once again declined to step aside, rejecting Trump’s latest effort to oust him.
But there was also a ruling that favored the former president: Judge Juan Merchan rejected a request by prosecutors to introduce accusations of sexual assault that women lodged against Trump years ago, calling them “rumors” and “complete gossip.”
The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which brought the case against Trump, also asked the judge to hold Trump in contempt and penalize him $3,000 for violating a gag order barring him from attacking witnesses in the case.
On social media over the weekend, Trump assailed one of the prosecution’s key witnesses: Michael Cohen, his former fixer. Cohen paid $130,000 to porn actor Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump.
After the lunch break — during which Trump posted a video of an ally yelling about the judge’s wife — Merchan said he would hold a hearing later this month to discuss potential violations of the gag order, which also bars Trump from attacking the judge’s family.
The jury selection process could take two weeks or more, and the trial may spill into June. Trump is expected to be in the courtroom for much of it.
Trump seemed alternately irritated and exhausted during pretrial arguments Monday, sometimes smirking and scoffing but also appearing to nod off, his
mouth slack and his head drooping to his chest. After the trial got underway in the afternoon, he chuckled when Merchan told the first group of 96 prospective jurors that he would ensure a fair trial.
Trump, who might take the witness stand in his own defense, has denied the sexual encounter with Daniels. But prosecutors say that, while serving as president, he allowed his company to falsify records to hide the reimbursements to Cohen. They argue the payment to Daniels was part of a pattern: Trump, faced with damaging stories that could have doomed his campaign, concealed them to influence the election.
Here’s what else to know about Trump’s trial:
■ This is the Manhattan criminal case against Trump, and it was brought by District Attorney Alvin Bragg a year ago. Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and, if convicted, could face up to four years in prison. The case, one of four indictments the former president and presumptive Republican nominee is facing, may be the only one to make it to trial before Election Day.
■ Jury selection will be crucial for both sides. Prosecutors have some advantage, as the jury pool is drawn from Manhattan, in one of the most Democratic counties in America. Trump’s team will be looking for red needles in a blue haystack.
■ Trump has twice sought Merchan’s recusal, citing his daughter’s work as a Democratic political consultant. 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,” Merchan said in court Monday, adding, “we want to follow the law; we want justice to be done.” Trump has also attacked the judge’s daughter on social media.
■ Hundreds of potential jurors have been summoned. Those who say they cannot be fair or otherwise serve are being excused, and the remaining prospective jurors will answer 42 questions compiled before the trial. Lawyers on both sides will be able to remove a limited number of potential jurors without explanation. The lawyers can also ask to remove a potential juror “for cause” by providing specific reasons they believe that person cannot be fair.
■ In addition to the payment to Daniels, Bragg’s office is expected to highlight two other deals involving The National Enquirer, a tabloid that has long-standing ties to Trump. In one deal, the tabloid bought the silence of a man who had heard that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock, a rumor that turned out to be false; and in the other, it paid Karen Mcdougal, a former Playboy model, who wanted to sell her story of an affair with Trump.
■ The prosecution’s witness list is expected to include David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, as well as Hope Hicks, a former aide to Trump. Daniels and Mcdougal could also testify.