The first criminal trial against a U.S. president began Monday in downtown Manhattan.
Former President Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. The underlying events revolve around a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the final stages of the 2016 presidential election campaign.
The payment was made to silence claims by Daniels that she had a sexual relationship with Trump about a decade ago. President Trump denies any such contact occurred and denies any legal wrongdoing related to the payments.
The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks. The first day brought a large media presence.
The main takeaways are:
It would be difficult to find an impartial jury
The main topic of the day was to begin jury selection.
By evening it was clear how difficult the process would be.
No jurors were selected at the closing ceremony.
Of the 96 potential jurors brought to the court in the first round, about half told Judge Juan Melchán that Trump’s trial would not be fair.
On some level that’s to be expected, but Trump is, after all, the most polarizing president of modern times. And in New York, for decades before that, he had been a prominent figure in the city’s tabloids.
Additionally, it is the nature of jury selection that prosecutors and defense attorneys look at the demographic and behavioral profiles of prospective jurors to determine which way they are likely to lean.
So on Monday, both sides were considering people who The Associated Press described as: “I am a married man living in West Harlem, working in sales, having some college education, enjoying the outdoors, and eating news such as the New York Times, the Daily Mail, Fox News, and some MSNBC.”
Is such a person a Trump supporter, an anti-Trump person, or an impartial person?
Ultimately, 12 jurors and six alternates will be selected.
The full selection process could easily drag on into next week.
Sleepy Don?
The most dramatic and memorable moments in high-profile trials often have nothing to do with lofty questions of jurisprudence.
That was the case on Monday, when suggestions that Trump sometimes fell asleep in court received a lot of attention on social media.
The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, long one of the most authoritative reporters on Trump, said Trump “appeared to be slack-mouthed, his head drooped to his chest, and he nodded several times.” writing.
Haberman also reported that Todd Blanche, Trump’s lead attorney, appeared to be “passing the note to Trump for several minutes until Trump woke up startled and appeared to notice the note.” .
Trump’s apparent expression of sleepiness was seized upon by Trump’s critics, who mocked his frequent attacks on President Biden, comparing his depiction of him sleeping with “Sleepy Joe.”
It’s important not to overstate the importance of moments like this, but it would be embarrassing for President Trump.
Despite being 77 years old, the former president likes to project an image full of vitality.
Opinion polls show that many voters place more importance on Mr. Biden’s age and cognitive ability than Mr. Trump. But some of the former president’s more cryptic comments at recent rallies raise questions of their own.
At Saturday’s rally in Pennsylvania, for example, Trump drew negative attention for his ramblings and bizarre remarks about the Battle of Gettysburg.
indelible tape
It’s been almost eight years since the so-called “Access Hollywood” tape hit the political world like a bombshell.
It remains a topic of debate, including in court Monday.
The recording came to light in October 2016, but the events recorded date back to 2005.
President Trump was heard bragging about women in very graphic terms to TV host Billy Bush. Most infamously, President Trump claimed, “Once you’re a star… you can do anything, including grabbing women’s genitals.”
Prosecutors had wanted to allow jurors to play the tape, but Trump’s lawyers opposed the idea.
On Monday, Marchan reaffirmed his previous ruling, saying it would be prejudicial to allow the recording itself to be played, but prosecutors could still quote from it.
Additionally, prosecutors can quote from internal Trump campaign emails after the tapes were released.
The broad thrust of the prosecution’s case is that Trump tried to influence the 2016 election by paying hush money to Daniels.
The separate case of the “Access Hollywood” tape could be used to highlight why the Daniels issue is so politically important.
But Trump’s lawyers argued that even the evidence the judge ultimately admitted was “extremely despicable” and “prejudiced.”
Trump could face sanctions for posting ‘slezbag’
Trump’s willingness to attack prosecutors, judges and hostile witnesses has been a constant theme in each of the four criminal trials he faces.
In the New York case, his actions led to a gag order being issued by Judge Marchan, and then after President Trump attacked the judge’s daughter, Lauren Marchan, who works for a consulting firm used by Democrats. The ordinance was further expanded.
Prosecutors now claim President Trump violated that gag order and are seeking a $1,000 fine for each social media post.
One of the posts under scrutiny calls Daniels and Michael Cohen “two scumbags.”
Mr. Cohen paid Mr. Daniels $130,000 directly when he was Mr. Trump’s lawyer and fixer. Mr. Cohen later pleaded guilty to a series of charges, including tax evasion and lying to Congress.
He has recently become a vocal critic of Trump and is expected to testify against his former boss.
In addition to the fine, prosecutors argue that a judge should warn Trump that further violations could result in jail time.
Mr. Trump’s team maintains that Mr. Trump was simply responding to public statements from Mr. Daniels and Mr. Cohen.
The matter is scheduled to be heard in court on April 23.
The White House is trying to avoid conflict.
Mr. Biden and his aides are understandably wary of statements that would add momentum to Mr. Trump’s claims that the accusations against him are politically motivated.
On Monday, the White House stuck to its approach when press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked at a news conference about the historic nature of the Trump incident and whether Biden was following events in New York.
Jean-Pierre responded that Biden was “pretty busy today,” meeting with the prime ministers of Iraq and the Czech Republic.
“He will get an update at some point today, but right now his focus is on the meetings he has and what he continues to do every day,” Jean-Pierre added.
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