Former President Trump’s legal team is challenging the selection of jurors in his hush money criminal trial, arguing there are worrisome issues that need to be addressed.
Mr. Trump’s defense attorneys filed a pretrial letter with the court on Friday outlining two concerns about jury selection. The letter arrived on the same day that Judge Juan Melchan rejected the Trump campaign’s last-ditch effort to delay the trial, which begins Monday.
The letter states that the defense opposes the removal of potential jurors who are “admittedly unable to perform their duties” and that it would be inappropriate. Instead, the defense said it wanted to use a hybrid method to distinguish between jurors who they say cannot be fair and impartial and jurors who are simply unable to do their job.
“President Trump, as necessary, regarding the number of potential jurors he believed to be subject to disqualification bias prior to questioning and the number of additional potential jurors who disclosed his suspicions.” This clarity is needed to be able to refute the First Ministry’s “disqualification bias during questioning,” the letter said.
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 25: Former President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference at 40 Wall Street after a pretrial hearing on March 25, 2024 in New York City. Judge Juan Machan is scheduled to begin President Trump’s criminal trial on April 15, marking the first criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president. Trump was indicted last year on 34 counts of falsifying business records, which prosecutors say was intended to cover up a potential sex scandal around the 2016 election. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The defense also argues that the jury questionnaire benefits the prosecutor’s office by identifying people with ties to Trump’s political party.
“Second, while we agree that whether a potential juror “likes or dislikes” President Trump is not the focus of jury selection, the “negative opinion” of a prospective juror may be “actual.” “It is well established that this is a form of ‘prejudice,'” the letter reads.
Trump’s defense attorneys say the questionnaire lacks similarly extensive research to identify potential jurors who align with rival political parties, which are not necessarily “anti-Trump,” but still poses disqualifying bias. He said the evidence could be corroborated and merited follow-up investigation by the defense. .
“The court’s questionnaire asks about Mr. Trump’s ties to other political groups, which is a fairly direct inquiry into Republican affiliation. Question 29.EH, on the other hand, Trump” group only. People don’t have to be “anti-Trump” to have political or policy views that lead to disqualification bias. “This survey therefore benefits DANY by identifying people affiliated with President Trump’s political party,” the letter continued.
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 25: Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media while attending a pretrial hearing in New York City criminal court on March 25, 2024. (Getty Images)
“Unless the court is able to correct this asymmetry in questionnaires, defense attorneys must be allowed the leeway to investigate such affiliations during the jury selection process,” the letter concludes.
Trump’s trial, related to charges that he falsified business records to conceal payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election, is scheduled to begin on Monday.
“I’m testifying. I’m going to tell the truth. So all I can do is tell the truth,” Trump told reporters Friday at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago. “And the truth is, there is no incident.”
When asked if he planned to testify in a future trial, President Trump criticized his trial, calling it a “fraud” and a “witch hunt.”
“What they did was unbelievable. This was election interference and it has to stop. This is a third world country. This country has never done anything like that,” the former president said. said.
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Trump’s trial comes as he prepares to challenge President Biden for another term in the White House later this year. The president’s son, Hunter Biden, faces legal challenges of his own, including federal taxes and firearms fees.
FOX News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
