Former President Trump became the first former US president to face trial on criminal charges on Monday, April 15. However, the process of selecting a jury proved to be difficult, with no jurors selected by the end of the first day. The selection process was set to continue on Tuesday.
In the hush money case, prosecutors accused Trump of falsifying business records during his 2016 presidential campaign to cover up payments of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels by his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors claim that the payments to Cohen were inaccurately recorded as legal fees to conceal their true purpose. Trump’s lawyers argue that these expenditures were indeed legal fees and not meant to cover up the facts.
Trump stated that the case is all fake and that he is being prosecuted for political motives aimed at sabotaging his candidacy.
“This is a hoax. This is political persecution. It’s going on right now, and it will continue forever. We won’t receive a fair trial,” Trump said after leaving the courtroom.
The day began with pre-trial arguments, with both sides engaging in lengthy debates over unresolved legal issues. Judge Juan Merchan was considering which pieces of evidence could be admitted and whether Trump violated his gag order.
It wasn’t until around 3 p.m. that the jury selection phase began, with all parties deciding who might be chosen to decide the legal fate of the former US president.
The initial 96 potential jurors underwent security screening before being summoned to the courtroom.
“You are about to participate in jury duty. The jury trial system is one of the cornerstones of our judicial system,” Judge Merchan told the jury pool. “This case is entitled The People of the State of New York v. Donald Trump.”
However, many potential jurors quickly decided to opt-out.
More than half of the 96 members stated that they could not be fair and impartial. When Judge Merchan asked if there were other reasons they couldn’t serve, at least 9 individuals raised their hands and were excused from jury duty.
One woman potential juror was asked to leave the courtroom after expressing strong personal opinions about Trump.
In a questionnaire completed earlier, the Harlem resident had indicated neutrality in deciding cases. But when asked if she had strong opinions about the former president, she boldly replied, “Yes.”
The court took many measures to protect the anonymity of jurors from the media and the public. The judge stated that both sides’ lawyers would receive a written list, but they were prohibited from photographing or copying it. The courtroom’s video feed would be cut when jurors moved around the room.
Outside the Manhattan courthouse, the scene was much calmer compared to when Trump was on trial last year. Only a few dozen protesters gathered, surrounded by tight security personnel and a swarm of media.
53-year-old Ariel Kohane, a Trump supporter, was one of the protesters. He believed the trial was a “farce” and that Manhattan was not a fair venue for the trial, but he remained hopeful that Trump would not be convicted.
Wearing a shirt that read “Jews Support Trump,” Kohane said, “If we could have one or two fair jurors, impartial, just looking at the facts, then they’ll do the right thing and find him not guilty.”
“It’s going to be very tough if they can cast aside the politics, all the emotion, but to come here and get a fair trial will be very, very difficult,” he added.
During the earlier arguments of the day, Trump’s lawyers had requested the judge to recuse himself from the case, citing a conflict of interest. However, the judge rejected the defense’s request.
The defense attorneys also argued that the prosecutors should not be allowed to play a recording from the informal 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape to the jury. The tape was made public in October 2016, where Trump was heard making lewd remarks and crude comments.
However, the prosecutors were still permitted to question witnesses about this recording.
Manhattan prosecutors asked the judge to fine Trump $3,000 for his social media posts criticizing his former lawyer Cohen and adult film actress Daniels. They claimed these posts violated the judge’s gag order.
Last week, Trump criticized Cohen and Daniels on the “Truth Social” platform, stating, “Their lies and actual statements have cost our country dearly!”
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche stated that Trump was merely responding to witness statements.
“President Trump is not targeting individuals. He is responding to the obscene, repetitive attacks of these witnesses,” Blanche said.
Judge Merchan scheduled a hearing next week on this request.
Trump’s lawyers argued that in overwhelmingly Democratic Manhattan, jury selection had been influenced by negative reporting on Trump and advocated for the case to be transferred elsewhere.
An appellate judge rejected the emergency request to delay the trial, and the request to change the trial location would be submitted to another panel of appellate judges for consideration in the coming weeks.
Manhattan prosecutors countered, stating that there was no reason to believe that among roughly 1.4 million adult residents in Manhattan, there couldn’t be 12 fair and impartial individuals.
Potential jurors would be asked 42 questions, including their backgrounds, hobbies, news habits, whether they hold strong opinions about Trump that could hinder their impartiality, and if they have attended pro- or anti-Trump events.
Based on these answers, lawyers could request the judge to dismiss jurors for being unable to serve or remain unbiased.
Lawyers could also use peremptory challenges to dismiss 10 potential jurors and 2 alternate jurors without stating specific reasons.
责任编辑：李沐恩#