Judge Juan Merchan announced Thursday that former President George W. Bush’s hush money trial in New York will commence March 25, with jury selection taking place shortly afterwards. This case involves allegations he falsified business records to conceal stories of extramarital affairs ahead of 2016 presidential campaigning.
Merchan rejected protests from Trump’s attorneys that any trial would be an “immense injustice” during the 2020 campaign season. Her ruling sets up what will likely become history’s first criminal prosecution of an ex-president.
Jury selection
On Thursday, New York judge overseeing Donald Trump‘s criminal hush money trial announced it will start as planned on March 25. This announcement represents a victory for prosecutors hoping to bring one or more of four cases against former president to trial before losing his bid for Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
Last year, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed charges against Trump alleging he falsified business records to conceal payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign.
Prosecutors and the defense team are in disagreement regarding what questions can be asked of prospective jurors during the upcoming jury selection process. Prosecution wants to inquire into political affiliation and donation history while defense believes such broad queries might imply politics are key components of this case. A judge is set to hear arguments during a pretrial hearing Thursday.
Opening statements
After the judge denied Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case, jury selection began March 25. His attorneys immediately raised objections as “election interference”, as his trial occurs while he collects delegates for Republican presidential nomination.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has filed a 34-count felony indictment against President Donald Trump for paying porn star Stormy Daniels fraudulently before the 2016 presidential election to keep her quiet about an affair between themselves.
At a hearing held last Friday, Assistant DA Joshua Steinglass informed the judge that prosecutors are prepared for trial and have an established timeline and exhibit list ready. Steinglass estimated that trial should last no longer than 17 days; during opening statements both prosecutors and defense will give overviews of their respective cases; opening statement speakers can make general arguments, but inadmissible evidence or facts cannot be referenced – that kind of discourse must wait until closing arguments.
Pretrial motions
As part of the pretrial phase, both you and your attorney have an opportunity to file various motions that could benefit your case. One common form of pretrial motion is the Motion to Suppress Evidence which typically seeks to address problems associated with how evidence was acquired by the prosecution for trial use.
Requests to change venue can also be filed. These motions seek to move your location so as to reduce the chances of local sentiment or extensive media coverage affecting prospective jurors’ ability to evaluate facts objectively.
The New York case arising from payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels marks the first criminal trial involving a former president to open in the US. Trump’s lawyers contend he is being prosecuted solely for political purposes in order to damage his 2024 bid for presidential office, yet the judge denied his attempt at dismissal on Thursday.
The trial
After rejecting Trump’s bid to dismiss, Judge Reis set jury selection for March 25 and anticipates that trial will last six weeks.
The 34-count indictment charges Donald Trump with violating campaign finance laws by fraudulently paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to 2016 elections, then misrepresenting these payments when his company reported them as legal expenses in 2017. Prosecutors believe these allegations constitute violations against campaign finance laws.
Trump’s attorneys have vigorously objected to the trial date, arguing it will interfere with his pursuit of winning the Republican presidential nomination in an electoral college system he wishes to dominate. Additionally, they note they have had to cope with “extremely compressed and expedited schedules” during other proceedings against their client.
At Thursday’s hearing, defense lawyer Todd Blanche asserted that holding the trial in March constituted “complete election interference.” Blanche claimed it would be impossible to defend multiple criminal cases while simultaneously campaigning for nomination of the Republican party.
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