The Latest | Trump returns to court as jury selection in his historic hush money case enters 2nd day
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump returned to a New York courtroom Tuesday as the jury selection process in his historic hush-money trial enters a second day. The former president and presumptive Republican Party nominee began the day by railing against the trial and complaining about a gag order that bars him from publicly commenting on jurors, potential witnesses and others related to his criminal cases.
“This contradictory Trump Hating Judge won’t let me respond to people who lie and spew hate on TV all day,” he wrote on his Truth Social network. “He is cracking down on my lawyers and legal team.”
The first day of Trump’s trial in Manhattan ended Monday with no one choosing to serve on the 12-member jury or as one of six alternates. Dozens of people were dismissed for saying they did not believe they could be fair, but a second batch of about a hundred potential jurors have yet to be interviewed.
The criminal trial is the first of a former US commander-in-chief and also the first of four charges against Trump to come to trial.
Trump is accused of falsifying internal Trump Organization documents as part of a scheme to bury stories he feared could damage his 2016 campaign, especially as his reputation at the time suffered from comments he made about women .
The allegations focus on payouts to two women, porn actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said they had extramarital sexual encounters with Trump years earlier, as well as to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about a child he claimed to have. Trump had been illegitimate. Trump says none of these alleged sexual encounters took place.
Currently:
– Here’s what happened yesterday on the first day of Trump’s historic hush money trial
– Only 1 in 3 American adults think Trump acted illegally in the New York hush money case, an AP-NORC poll shows
– Trump Trial: Why Can’t Americans See or Hear What Happens in Court?
– Donald Trump takes his campaign to the courthouse as his criminal hush-money trial begins
– A jury of his peers: A look at how jury selection will work in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial
Here’s the latest:
Following a motion filed with the court on Monday, prosecutors in Donald Trump’s hush money case filed court papers detailing why they believe he should be fined $3,000 for violating a silence order that bars him from reporting prosecution witnesses in to discredit.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office highlighted three of Trump’s social media posts on Truth Social using the names Michael Cohen and/or Stormy Daniels — in one case calling them “two sleaze bags who, with their lies and misrepresentations, have cost our country a lot” – and said he should be fined $1,000 for each post, admonished and ordered to remove the posts.
“It is absolutely critical that the defendant immediately cease any conduct that would violate the limited restrictions of the April 1 order to protect the integrity of the ongoing process,” the filing said.
Judge Juan M. Merchan has scheduled a hearing on the case for April 23.
The initial pool of 96 potential jurors in Donald Trump’s hush money case was reduced to just 30 Tuesday morning after Judge Juan M. Merchan announced that he had excused a potential juror who had to answer the questionnaire and had flu-like symptoms. .
He said she duly showed up with a mask, but she didn’t feel well enough to continue the day.
Another prospective juror – a partner at an accounting firm – was also excused after saying he feared his ability to be impartial could be compromised by “unconscious biases” from growing up in Texas and working in finance world with people who “intellectually tend to deviate from Republican.”
“A group of family and friends are Republicans, it’s probably going to be difficult to be nonpartisan,” he said.
Former President and presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday began complaining about his hush money lawsuit, calling it “AN ATTACK ON AMERICA!” and complaining about a gag order that bars him from publicly commenting on the case’s jurors, potential witnesses and others.
“This contradictory Trump Hating Judge won’t let me respond to people who lie and spew hate on TV all day,” he wrote on his Truth Social network. “He is cracking down on my lawyers and legal team.”
“I want to speak, or at least be able to respond,” he continued, demanding that the order be withdrawn. “Election interference! WRONG, UNCONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS! Remove the gag order!!!”
On his way to the courtroom, Trump stopped briefly to address a TV camera stationed in a hallway and denounced the proceedings and the judge.
“This is a process that should never have happened,” he said. “I paid a lawyer and marked it as legal fees… and you’re being sued for that?”
Judge Juan M. Merchan will hold a hearing on April 23 on the prosecution’s claim that Trump violated the silence order when he discredited prosecution witnesses Cohen and Daniels as “two sleaze bags.” He circulated an earlier statement from Daniels and lashed out at what he claimed. was a double standard by prosecutors.