Former US President Donald Trump attends the second day of his trial for allegedly protecting up hush cash funds linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Prison Courtroom in New York Metropolis on April 16, 2024.
Mary Altaffer | AFP | Getty Photos
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Jury choice within the New York felony hush cash trial of former President Donald Trump continued Tuesday, after the primary day ended with out anybody on the 12-person panel being seated.
As he entered the courtroom in Manhattan Supreme Courtroom, Trump railed in opposition to Choose Juan Merchan and defended his funds to a former lawyer which are key to the prosecutors’ case.
“We have now a Trump-hating choose” who “should not be on this case,” Trump stated.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying enterprise information as a part of a scheme to cover a $130,000 hush cash cost to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly earlier than the 2016 presidential election.
Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen made the cost, and Trump later reimbursed him in month-to-month installments that had been falsely labeled, Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin Bragg alleges.
“I used to be paying a lawyer and marked it down as a authorized expense, some accountant, I did not know, marked it down as a authorized expense, that is precisely what it was,” Trump stated exterior the courtroom Tuesday morning. “And also you get indicted over that?”
Bragg accuses Trump of attempting to affect the 2016 election by shopping for the silence of Daniels, who says she had a one-time sexual tryst with Trump in July 2006. Trump denies having intercourse with Daniels.
Monday’s session revealed a few of the many challenges of prosecuting Trump, the extremely polarizing presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Of the primary 96 potential jurors introduced in for the continuing, greater than half had been excused after saying that they might not be truthful or neutral to Trump.
Extra potential jurors had been dismissed for a similar motive Tuesday.
“I do not suppose I may be as neutral or unbiased as I believed I could possibly be,” one among them stated earlier than being excused.
The trial is about to final round six weeks, with proceedings going down 4 days every week. Trump is required to be in court docket all through the trial, doubtlessly interfering along with his presidential marketing campaign plans.
Trump’s attorneys on Monday obtained chilly responses from Merchan after they requested to regulate the trial schedule in order that Trump can attend different private and authorized issues. These occasions embody a Supreme Courtroom listening to on his request for presidential immunity in one other felony case and the highschool commencement of his youngest son, Barron Trump.
Merchan didn’t reject these requests outright, but in addition didn’t instantly grant them.
Trump then griped exterior of court docket after the session that Merchan was stopping him from attending the commencement.
Bragg’s prosecutors opposed Trump’s request to journey to Washington, D.C., on April 25 to listen to Supreme Courtroom oral arguments associated to his felony election interference case in federal court docket in Washington. Trump faces felony costs in two different instances apart from that and the hush cash case.
A prosecutor for Bragg on Monday additionally requested Merchan to sanction Trump for violating his gag order by sending a number of current social media posts that referenced Daniels and Cohen, who’re prone to testify in opposition to Trump.
Earlier than his motorcade left Trump Tower for the courthouse Tuesday morning, Trump despatched a Reality Social submit lashing out at Merchan and demanding that the gag order be eliminated.
“This conflicted, Trump Hating Choose will not let me reply to individuals which are on TV mendacity and spewing hate all day lengthy,” Trump posted.
“He’s operating tough shod over my legal professionals and authorized staff,” he stated of the choose. “I wish to converse, or a minimum of be capable of reply. Election Interference! RIGGED, UNCONSTITUTIONAL TRIAL! Take off the Gag Order!!!”
