15 – April- 2024
Trump’s hush-money trial begins with haggling over evidence
Donald Trump’s unprecedented criminal trial has begun with half of a group of potential jurors ruled out within minutes on impartiality grounds.
Mr Trump denies falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Sixty of 96 potential jurors were quick to say in the New York court that they could not be impartial.
Those left were then asked multiple questions, including about their news and book reading habits.
“I just couldn’t do it,” one prospective juror was heard saying as she left court on Monday.
The dismissals were an indication of how challenging it could be to find a group of 12 impartial jurors for a case concerned with a high-profile sex scandal involving a former president running once again for the White House.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office alleges that Mr Trump directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to pay Ms Daniels $130,000 (£104,000) in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter that the former president denies took place.
Prosecutors say he did so to “unlawfully influence” the 2016 election. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Jury selection began in the afternoon. The judge started by dismissing jurors who raised their hand to say they could not be impartial, leaving around 34 people.
Those left were then grilled on 42 questions in the jury questionnaire, including on their news-reading habits, whether they had attended any Trump rallies or read any of the former president’s books.
Eighteen were placed at random in the jury box, and they answered the questionnaire one by one.
One man from Midtown Manhattan said that he read the Wall Street Journal. Another from the Upper West Side said his radio habits included listening to whatever was on when he was in the shower. He later clarified he meant NPR.
Neither was dismissed immediately.
A woman was asked: “Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about former president Donald Trump, or the fact that he is a current candidate for president, that would interfere with your ability to be a fair and impartial juror?”
She simply replied “yes” and was dismissed, although Mr Trump’s team initially objected to excusing her.
- Historic criminal trial: Donald Trump is in a New York courtroom as jury selection in his criminal hush money trial is underway. Jury selection will continue until a panel of 12 New Yorkers and six alternates are selected to decide the former president’s fate. Hundreds of prospective jurors will be vetted through questions that could signal political views.
- About the case: Trump was charged last year with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for his alleged role in a hush money scheme before the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty. Get up to speed on the case here.
- What’s at stake: Trump is the first former president in US history to go on trial for criminal charges. This is only one of four criminal cases Trump faces while being the presumptive 2024 GOP nominee. It may be the only case to face a jury before the election, and he could face jail time if convicted. Track the criminal cases here.
More than half of 96 prospective jurors let go from first panel after saying they couldn’t be fair and impartial
More than half of the prospective jurors in the first batch of 96 people have been excused after saying that they couldn’t be fair and impartial. The press pool estimates at least 50 people were let go for that reason.
Judge Juan Merchan asked potential jurors to raise their hands if they believed they cannot be fair and impartial. He then began excusing those jurors one by one.
Donald Trump is in court and his long-awaited hush-money trial is under way in New York
It marks the first time that a US president – former or current – has faced a criminal trial
Both legal teams are haggling over evidence that can be used in trial, and will soon shift their focus to selecting the jury
Trump is accused of trying to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election – which he won
Daniels claims she and Trump had sex in 2006, and she was then paid by Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen to stay quiet about it
Trump is accused of falsifying his business records by saying the reimbursement money he gave Cohen was for legal fees
He faces 34 counts of fraud, but denies any legal wrongdoing – and also denies having an affair with Daniels
The maximum penalty if Trump is found guilty is four years behind bars, but experts say a much less severe penalty would be more likely
Bomb threat reported at Alvin Bragg’s home
Before Trump’s trial began, there was a bomb threat called in at the home of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York police have recently told the BBC.
Someone called in the threat at around 08:48 local time (13:48 BST), but when officials went to check the scene, they found it was safe and did not pose a credible threat, a police spokesperson has said.
After all, Trump is accused of trying to buy Daniels’s silence over an affair that allegedly occurred while his wife Melania Trump was pregnant with their child, Barron.
“It’s become shorthand to refer to this as the hush-money case or, worse, as the porn star case,” Wu said
