Opening statements in Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial are scheduled to begin next week after the last juror was seated on Friday, but after a dramatic day that left two prospective jurors in tears, an appeal is pending. A judge has denied President Trump’s request to halt the trial. The man then immolated himself in front of the courthouse.
“We will have opening statements Monday morning. This trial will begin,” Judge Juan Melchán said near the end of the day after safely seating the remaining five required alternate jurors. .
The case, the first ever criminal trial against a former president, will be heard by a jury of 12 jurors and six alternates. It is expected to last about six weeks.
The five finalists selected on Friday include an unemployed married woman with an interest in the arts and who says she is not political, an audio professional, a contract specialist, an executive at a clothing company, and a project for a construction company. Manager included. It took four days of jury selection to find 18 jurors.
In the early afternoon, a man self-immolated outside the courtroom at about the same time that the judge inside the courtroom declared “the full panel was present.” An NYPD spokesperson said the man, identified as Max Azzarello of Florida, was in critical condition. Police said he appeared to be carrying a pamphlet about a cryptocurrency conspiracy, which he threw around before setting it on fire.
Later in the afternoon, Trump’s lawyers filed again in a state appeals court seeking an emergency stay of the trial. Trump’s lawyer, Cliff Robert, argued that his client did not receive a fair trial in Manhattan, where Trump lived for many years before moving to Florida after he was elected president in 2016.
Stephen Wu of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office countered that “last week’s results show that jury selection went well.”
“Eighteen ordinary New Yorkers are ready to serve their sentences, and it would be unfair to them and the public to delay them further,” he said. A judge quickly rejected President Trump’s request for a detention.
Friday’s jury selection process was especially intense, with some potential jurors breaking down in tears and others saying they were too anxious to serve on a jury.
The day began with the judge calling the remaining 22 potential jurors from the previous group. Ninety-six out of 96 people answered questions indicating whether they could give a fair and impartial answer to the controversial real estate mogul and potential Republican presidential nominee.
The first potential juror was dismissed because she said she did not believe it would be impartial. “I had really, really bad anxiety and people knew where I was,” she told the judge. Moments later, two other potential jurors each told the judge that, on reflection, she “didn’t think she could be impartial,” and was removed.
Other potential jurors included a married father who said he listens to a podcast called “Order of Man,” which Apple’s website describes as “reclaiming what it means to be a man.” It is described as a discussion about things. Some of the podcast’s past guests have been outspoken supporters of Trump and highly critical of the civil fraud case brought against the former president by New York Attorney General Letitia James. This man, an audio expert, was chosen as one of the substitutes.
Another potential juror was a married fund manager who said he worked to “cancel votes” for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in the 2016 presidential election. As the jury spoke, Trump and his attorney Todd Blanche exchanged notes. He was later fired after being questioned about a 2020 Facebook post in which he appeared to call Trump “the devil and a sociopath.”
President Trump seemed most interested in jurors who gave vague answers about their personal political views. When one potential juror said they were Fox News viewers, Trump tilted his head and immediately consulted his attorney, Todd Blanche.
Another potential juror, a woman who served two years in prison for drug-related charges, said she was emotional but could be “fair and impartial.”
Marchan had chided reporters Thursday for divulging too much information about potential jurors, but during a morning break, a woman shared “some very personal things about her life” and said, It was very brave.” “I just wanted the press to be nice to him. He should be nice to this guy,” the judge said. She then fired her, saying that she needed her release certificate for future military service. As she was leaving, she cheerfully called out to me, “Good luck!”
After the jurors were dismissed, prosecutors began questioning them individually. A woman who revealed that her father was a lifelong friend of Trump ally and critic Chris Christie said prosecutor Susan Hoffinger was bland about the burden of proof in the case. When asked the question, she broke down in tears. “I’m so nervous and anxious right now. I’m sorry,” she replied through tears. “I thought I could do it,” she said, adding, “I don’t want anyone who feels that way to judge my case.” she was fired.
Following Hoffinger’s questioning, Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles asked the prospective juror, who started her own business, how she would rate the credibility of witnesses. The woman then asked the judge to tell her during a series of cross-examinations by Necheres that “she feels anxious and self-doubted,” but she was denied.
Necheres later told another woman, who had previously said she was a victim of sexual assault, that she accused Trump of other women accusing him of sexual assault. I asked if I would. Although she said she had no problem setting these charges aside, the judge ultimately forgave her, saying it was “better to err on the side of caution.”
Another man said that although he has some differences with Trump on policy, he thinks Trump is “usually great.” He was not selected to serve on the jury.
On his way to court this morning, Trump reiterated that the case against him was “unfair” and that a partial gag order that prohibited him from verbally assaulting witnesses, prosecutors, court officials and jurors was not “constitutional.” Ta. “Everyone else can say whatever they want to say about me. They can say whatever they want to say. They can continue to make up lies and everything else. They’re real scum, but you know what? I’m not allowed to talk,” he told reporters.
Prosecutors this week asked a judge to fine Trump and detain him for violating a gag order and posting insults on social media. A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday.
The 12 main committee members consist of 7 men and 5 women, including 2 lawyers, a teacher, a retirement asset manager, a product development manager, a security engineer, a software engineer, a speech therapist, and a physical therapist. be. The jurors, who essentially act as leaders and spokesmen for the committee, are married men who work in sales and get their news from the New York Times, MSNBC, and Fox News.
The only alternate selected Thursday is a woman who works as an asset manager.
Shortly after the final jury was selected, Trump gushed about the speed of the trial in a social media post, saying the judge had “railroaded me at breakneck speed to completely satisfy my ‘friends'”. ”.”
Later that day, Marchan held a public hearing known as the Sandoval hearing. This is a type of trial designed to enable defendants to know the range of questions they may be asked by prosecutors during cross-examination and to make an informed decision about whether to take the witness stand in their own defense. It’s an inquisition.
Trump, who appeared in court on Friday, was asked if he still planned to testify, and he said he was.
In a court filing, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office announced a $464 million civil judgment against Trump and his company on fraud charges, total judgments of $88 million, sexual abuse and defamation. He said he would like to ask Trump questions about a number of issues, including his determination of responsibility. In a lawsuit brought by author E. Jean Carroll and many other adverse court decisions handed down over the past few years.
President Trump has denied wrongdoing in all cases and is appealing the fraud and Carroll decisions.
Prosecutors said they want to be able to raise these findings “to impeach the defendant’s credibility” if he takes the witness stand.
Discussing the findings in the fraud case, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said, “Beyond the judge’s findings of persistent and repeated fraud, there is nothing more squarely in prosecutors’ wheelhouse to question Trump.” “It’s difficult to think about it,” he told the judge. illegal. ”
Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Emile Bove, countered that prosecutors should not be able to violate the subject at all because Mr. Trump’s appeal is still pending. He made a similar argument in response to the DA’s office’s argument that he lied on the stand during his fraud trial and should be allowed to question the judge’s finding that he violated a gag order in the case. .
“Is it your position that the case is not available because it is being appealed or could be appealed?” Machan asked the attorney, to which Bove replied, “Not necessarily. No,” he answered.
The judge said he would issue a ruling on the dispute on Monday morning.
President Trump said last week that he was “absolutely” willing to testify but was under no obligation to do so.
Asked by Mr. Necheres at the end of the day who the prosecution’s first witness would be, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said that despite the partial gag, President Trump had criticized some witnesses on social media. He said he would not inform the Trump campaign of the person’s identity until Sunday, given the ongoing situation. I will order it in a case. “If it gets tweeted, that will be the last time we will extend that courtesy,” Steinglass said.
Machan said the DA’s position was “understandable” and told Necheres, “I will not force them to do anything.”
President Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records, and if convicted, he could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.
Mr. Bragg secreted records to hide the amount Mr. Trump paid former lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for the $130,000 he paid to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign. He claims that it was falsified. Daniels claims she had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006. Trump denied sleeping with Daniels, but admitted he paid Cohen back.
Prosecutors also allege that American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, paid model and actor Karen McDougal $150,000 as part of a scheme to boost President Trump. McDougal appeared in Playboy magazine and claimed that she had a nine-month affair with President Trump before he took office. A statement of facts filed by Mr. Bragg says he was elected president “in exchange for an agreement not to speak out about the alleged sexual relationship.”
President Trump also denied having a sexual relationship with McDougal.
