The first day of former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has concluded with no jurors yet being selected to sit through the unprecedented criminal prosecution of a former U.S. President.
At least 50 prospective jurors were dismissed by Judge Juan Merchan on Monday for admitting they would struggle to remain fair during the trial, with white women making up many of those who were dismissed, The New York Post reported. The trial — where the former president stands accused of falsifying business records to cover up an alleged affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels — began on Monday, marking the first proceedings in a criminal trial against a former U.S. president.
In addition to the 50 prospective jurors who were dismissed for their partiality, at least nine more people raised their hands when Judge Merchan asked if they could not serve on the jury for any other reasons that remained undisclosed, according to CNN. Of the 96 prospective jurors who entered the courtroom in the first panel, only 34 remained after the dismissals.
Merchan gave Trump’s defense a victory during the initial proceedings, saying that the prosecution could not play the “Access Hollywood” tape of Trump. The judge also refused to allow prosecutors to bring up other sexual assault allegations against the former president that were made following the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape in 2016, CNN reported.
The judge also scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday on a motion from the prosecution that calls on Merchan to sanction and fine Trump for allegedly violating a gag order that prevents the defendant from talking about witnesses.
At the end of the day, Trump’s team requested that the former president be excused from the trial next Thursday so he can hear arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on his immunity claims stemming from his Washington, D.C., election interference case.
“Arguing before the Supreme Court is a big deal, and I can certainly appreciate why your client would want to be there, but a trial in New York Supreme Court … is also a big deal,” Merchan said.
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Before court proceedings began on Monday, Trump delivered remarks to reporters standing outside the Manhattan court, saying the trial is “an assault on America.”
“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” he added. “Every legal scholar says this case is nonsense, it should never have been brought. … They’ve said it. People that don’t necessarily follow or like Donald Trump said this is an outrage that this case was brought.”
“This is a political persecution, a persecution like never before. Nobody has ever seen anything like it,” Trump continued. “It is an assault on America. And that’s why I’m very proud to be here. This is an assault on our country, and it’s a country that’s failing. It’s a country that’s run by an incompetent man who’s very much involved in this case.”
The trial will begin again at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday and jump right back into jury selection.
JUST IN — President Trump addresses reporters ahead of Day 1 of his hush money trial:
"This is a persecution like never before. It is an assault on America and that’s why I'm very proud to be here." pic.twitter.com/VW0CQKrtMq
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 15, 2024