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NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump arrived at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Monday for the start of jury formation in his secret trial, marking a historic moment as the presumptive nominee for this year’s Republican presidential election faces off against a criminal. Charges.
This is the first criminal trial of a former U. S. commander-in-chief and the first of four Trump indictments to go to trial. Dozens of other people are expected to be summoned to the courtroom to begin proceedings to reach an agreement on the 12 jurors, in addition to six alternates. Trump’s notoriety would make this procedure an almost herculean task over the course of a year, but it will most likely be complicated at this point.
From fees to how the variety of juries work, here’s everything you want to know about the offender’s case:
The former president is accused of falsifying internal Trump Organization records as part of a scheme to bury damaging stories that he feared could damage his 2016 campaign, especially since Trump’s reputation took a hit at the time over his comments about women.
The allegations about bribes paid to two women, porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy-style Karen McDougal, who said they had extramarital sex with Trump years earlier, as well as a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about a child that he claimed. He had it out of wedlock. Trump claims none of those alleged sexual relationships took place.
Trump’s former lawyer and organizer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 and arranged for the publisher of the National Enquirer supermarket tabloid to pay McDougal $150,000 in a dubious journalistic practice known as “catch-and-kill,” in which a publication pays for exclusive rights to someone’s story without intending to publish it. whether it’s to do a favor for a celebrity or to gain influence over that person.
Prosecutors say Trump’s company reimbursed Cohen and paid him bonuses and additional payments, all of which were falsely recorded in the Trump Organization’s records as legal fees. Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal cross-finance law in connection with the payments.
Television cameras will be installed in the courtroom to film the trial.
Judge Juan M. Merchán denied that the news agencies wanted to televise the proceedings, briefly allowing photographers into the courtroom. New York is among the most restrictive states when it comes to the electronic transmission of court proceedings, a nonprofit discovered in 2022.
Merchan allowed television cameras to come out into the hallway outside the courtroom.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. The penalty carries up to four years in prison, but it will ultimately be up to the judge to decide whether he will serve the bans if convicted.
To win the felony charge, prosecutors will have to show that Trump not only forged or caused the false seizure of business documents (which would be a misdemeanor), but that he did so with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not specify the other crime in Trump’s indictment, but has since said evidence shows his moves were aimed at concealing financial crusades and state and federal tax crimes. Some experts say this is a legal strategy that can backfire.
The procedure to decide on the 12 jurors, plus six alternates, will begin when Judge Merchan gathers dozens of other people in his courtroom to begin discarding other people because of potential bias or other reasons they can’t serve.
The ruling said it would excuse anyone who indicated by showing their hands that it simply wouldn’t serve or simply wouldn’t be fair and independent before calling the teams from which they remained on the jury stand to answer 42 questions.
The judging panel will be composed entirely of Manhattan residents. All English-speaking U. S. citizens over the age of 18 who have been convicted of a crime are eligible for jury duty in New York.
Court officials identify jurors from lists of registered voters, taxpayers, driver’s license holders, public benefit recipients, and other sources.
The pool of potential jurors for Trump’s trial will have been selected at random. People can volunteer to serve on a jury, but they don’t know which trial they will participate in.
Jury duty is mandatory, but you may be excused for a variety of reasons, such as financial or medical hardship.
The trial won’t allow lawyers to ask whether potential jurors are Democrats or Republicans, who they voted for or whether they donated cash to political causes. But there are many questions about whether other people are more likely to be biased, opposed, or pro-Trump.
Among them:
“Do you have any political, moral, intellectual, or devout ideals or criticisms that can save you from following the court’s orders on legal issues or that can simply influence your strategy in this case?”
“Have you, a family member or close friend, ever worked or volunteered for a Trump presidential campaign, the Trump presidential administration, or any political entity affiliated with Mr. Trump or any political entity affiliated with Mr. Trump or any political entity?Trump?”
“Have you ever attended a rally or event honoring Donald Trump?”
“Is Donald Trump on any social media lately or has he done so in the past?”
“Have you, a family member, or a friend ever worked or volunteered for an anti-Trump organization or organization?”
“Have you ever attended a rally or crusade of an anti-Trump organization or organization?”
“Do you have an anti-Trump organization or organization on a social media site lately, or have you done so in the past?”
“Have you ever been a supporter of or belonged to any of the following groups: the QAnon movement, Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, Three Percenters, Boogaloo Boys, Antifa?”
Jurors will be asked which podcasts and radio systems they pay attention to and where they get their news from.
The ruling ordered that the names of jurors be kept secret, a rare but not unprecedented move in trials where there is a threat that jurors will end up being harassed or threatened or after trial.
There is nothing to stop jurors from voluntarily speaking about their reports after the trial is over. As long as the case is pending, they are not meant to talk about it.
Jurors in the trial will pay attention to testimony and whether Trump is guilty of any of the 34 counts of falsifying business records. Their decision to convict or acquit will have to be unanimous. If they can’t agree on a verdict, the sentencing court could declare the trial a mistrial.
If jurors have moderate doubt about Trump’s guilt, they will have to acquit him. If convicted, the trial will decide on sentencing, not juries.
Cohen is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution, as he was the one who orchestrated the bribes. Before testifying before the grand jury that unsealed the indictment last year, Cohen said his purpose was to “tell the truth” and insisted he is not seeking revenge. , but said Trump “must be held accountable for his dirty acts. “
Cohen served time after pleading guilty in 2018 to federal charges, in addition to campaign finance violations, for paying bills to Daniels and McDougal.
Other witnesses are expected to come with Daniels, whose real caller is Stephanie Clifford. Daniels alleges she had sex with Trump in 2006 that she didn’t want, but didn’t say no. Trump says that never happened.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the case an attempt to damage his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump testified that he reimbursed Cohen for the payment and that he did so to prevent Daniels from going public with the alleged meeting. But Trump said in 2018 that he had nothing to do with the campaign.
Trump’s lawyers will most likely attack the case by seeking to undermine the credibility of prosecution witnesses like Cohen and Daniels. Trump called both liars, testing the limits of the judge’s silence. Its goal is to put an end to the president’s incendiary rhetoric on the matter. Trump’s lawyers are expected to portray Cohen as a con man and point to his conviction for several federal crimes, as well as his disbarment, in an attempt to convince jurors to believe him.
Trump recently posted on social media a photo of Daniels’ 2018 writing, in which she denied having sex. Soon after, Daniels recanted and said a sexual encounter had taken place. He said his refusals were due to a non-disclosure agreement. and that he signed because the interested parties “gave the impression that he had no choice. “
Trump’s other three criminal cases have stalled in legal battles and appeals, which could mean juries likely won’t hear about them until the November election.
Jack Smith’s 2020 election interference case remains unsolved as Trump maintains his claim that he is immune from prosecution for moves he took while in the White House. The U. S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on this factor by the end of April.
Smith’s other case accuses Trump of illegally keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property. The trial is scheduled to begin in May, but the trial ruling heard arguments last month to set a new trial date and has yet to do so.
No trial date has been set in the Georgia case accusing Trump and his allies of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in that state. Prosecutors have advised that the trial be moved forward in August, but defense attorneys are now asking an appeals court whether Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis deserves to be disqualified from prosecution because of a romantic relationship she had with a former high-ranking prosecutor who recently withdrew from the case.
Trump has pleaded guilty in all three cases and says he did something wrong.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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