Former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial began today. Jury selection was wholly uneventful as no one was picked. Spencer will have the questionnaire each potential jury member must answer tomorrow morning. It’s quite the list, but the former president went off on the judge this afternoon, who he claims won’t let him leave for his son’s graduation. Trump also said he can’t go to the Supreme Court or campaign as the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party in this year’s election (via The Palm Beach Post):
BREAKING 🚨 | President Trump says his request to attend his son’s graduation ceremony has been denied by Judge overlooking his case, was told he would be arrested if he misses a single day of court case.
— Anthony Cabassa (@AnthonyCabassa_) April 15, 2024
Listen: pic.twitter.com/vB8tAxacxH
Through his unconstitutional gag orders, refusals to recuse after clear evidence of judicial bias, and threats of jailing the leading presidential candidate, Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan--a Democrat operative in a robe--has done serious damage to our judicial system.
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) April 16, 2024
Shameful. https://t.co/XEoRLMBOpS
Donald Trump complained Monday that he may not be able to go to his son Barron's high school graduation ceremony due to the trial in New York, or campaign events or a key judicial proceeding for that matter.
"That I can't go to my son's graduation or that I can't go to the United States Supreme Court. That I'm not in Georgia, or Florida, or North Carolina campaigning like I should be," Trump said as he departed the Manhattan courtroom where jury selection began on Monday. "It's perfect for the radical left Democrats. It's exactly what they want."
The mention of the high court is a reference to next week's scheduled oral arguments on his claim that as president he enjored [sic] complete immunity from legal liability for any actions. It is an argument legal scholars have widely disparaged as unconstitutional.
Who will explain for me, to my wonderful son, Barron, who is a GREAT Student at a fantastic School, that his Dad will likely not be allowed to attend his Graduation Ceremony, something that we have been talking about for years, because a seriously Conflicted and Corrupt New York…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) April 15, 2024
This is insane. https://t.co/t6MbRzyVbu
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) April 15, 2024
Judge Juan Merchan is cited in Newsweek, however, saying that he couldn’t rule on whether the former president could attend Barron’s graduation, instead suggesting that it will all depend on whether the trial is “running on schedule” (via Newsweek):
On Monday, as the trial kicked off with jury selection, presiding Judge Juan Merchan, said he had received requests from Trump's attorneys for the former president to miss the trial on May 17 so he could attend his son's ceremony.
But, according to Inner City Press in a tweet on X, formerly Twitter, Merchan explained he could not rule at this time as it would depend on whether the trial was running on schedule. Jury selection in the trial is expected to last up to two weeks.
To recap, Trump is essentially accused of trying to bury his alleged tryst with adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels, the woman who was represented by Michael Avenatti, who is serving a 19-year jail sentence for trying to extort Nike, along with committing fraud and embezzlement from other settlements. This story was apparently essential in the lead-up to Election Day 2016 or something. We all know the country had already made up its mind weeks or even months before we all went to the polls that year. It’s a glorified campaign finance violation (via NYT):
The first criminal trial of an American president officially began on Monday as prosecutors and defense lawyers convened in a Manhattan courtroom to start selecting the jury that will decide Donald J. Trump’s fate.
The initial pool of prospective jurors dwindled rapidly. More than half of the first group of 96 were dismissed in short order after indicating that they did not believe they could be impartial. Court adjourned for the day roughly two hours after jury selection began, with zero jurors chosen.
Before beginning the arduous process of choosing a jury for the landmark trial — on allegations that Mr. Trump falsified documents to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn star — the judge overseeing the case once again declined to step aside, rejecting Mr. Trump’s latest effort to oust him.
But there was also a ruling that favored the former president: The judge, Juan M. Merchan, rejected a request by prosecutors to introduce accusations of sexual assault that women lodged against Mr. Trump years ago, calling them “rumors” and “complete gossip.”
The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which brought the case against Mr. Trump, also asked the judge to hold Mr. Trump in contempt and penalize him $3,000 for violating a gag order barring him from attacking witnesses in the case.
Many potential jurors were dismissed over concerns that they couldn’t be impartial. The New York Times had a rundown of how the first day went in a trial that district attorneys seldom prosecute, with those who have been convicted rarely, if ever, going to jail. Those who do spend less than a month, based on past cases.
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