NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump’s trial over alleged hush money payments began with jury selection Monday.
Jurors started being sworn in in the afternoon, beginning with a panel of 96 people. More than half of prospective jurors in that first group were excused, though, after saying they could not be fair and impartial.
Questions posed to jurors included ones on their educational backgrounds, news habits, hobbies and ability to be neutral.
The case revolves around payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels aimed at concealing an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, who was then a presidential candidate in the 2016 election.
It’s the first criminal trial of a former president, and the first of Trump’s four indictments, to go to trial.
Judge Juan Merchan made rulings over several housekeeping and evidentiary issues before the jury selection.
Despite repeated asks from Trump’s legal team, Merchan said he will not recuse himself from the case, adding that he won’t address the matter further.
Merchan denied prosecutors’ requests to show an infamous “Access Hollywood” video, where Trump is caught talking about grabbing women sexually without their permission, as well as another request to tell jurors about several sexual assault allegations against Trump.
He did, however, allow the prosecution to introduce more evidence about an alleged arrangement Trump had with the National Enquirer, NewsNation partner The Hill reported, as well as evidence that Trump believed a story about another affair he allegedly had with former Playboy model Karen McDougal would hurt his campaign.
Under a gag order imposed March 26, Trump was barred from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors, as well as relatives of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Merchan. However, he is allowed to speak about the officials themselves.
While Trump’s attorneys are fighting the gag order in an appeals court, prosecutors asked Merchan on Monday to fine the former president $3,000 over social media posts they say violate it. Among these are posts calling two important witnesses — Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen and Daniels — “two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!”
Merchan ruled that these tweets could be admitted as evidence if defense attorneys attempt to discredit Cohen. A hearing on whether to fine Trump is set for April 23, though Merchan had previously set it for the 24th. Lawyers for Trump have an April 19 deadline to file a written response.
A group of 12 people — Trump’s peers, in the eyes of the law — will be chosen to decide whether the former president is guilty of a crime.
Prior to Monday’s proceedings, Trump’s attorneys had filed four motions to delay the trial, all of which were denied. The most recent one was last Friday when the judge rejected their request to adjourn the case because of what they argued was overwhelming pretrial publicity.
Trump spoke to reporters entering the courtroom Monday morning, falsely saying “every legal scholar” said the case is nonsense and repeating claims that the case is politically motivated. He said the same after court as well.
Protestors were outside the courthouse as well.
At times during the trial, The Hill wrote, Trump closed his eyes, leading to some criticism from Democrats.
At the end of the day Monday, defense lawyer Todd Blanche asked if Trump could be excused Thursday for a Supreme Court argument over whether he can be criminally prosecuted for efforts to overturn his 2020 reelection loss. Merchan rejected this request.
“He’s required to be here, he’s not required to be at the Supreme Court,” Merchan said.
The trial resumes at 9:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
How long will jury selection take?
The process of selecting a jury could take several days, if not weeks.
Trump’s lawyers and state attorneys will draw from a large sampling of potential jurors to find those who can be unbiased and render a fair verdict. The goal is to select 12 jurors and six alternates.
Potential jurors are randomly picked from lists of New York registered voters, state driver’s license holders, New York state income tax filers and more. To serve, they must be at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens and residents of Manhattan — where the trial is set to take place. Jurors must also understand English and hold no felony convictions.
Once the trial begins, the judge says it could last six to eight weeks.
What questions were jurors asked?
Lawyers weren’t allowed to ask potential jurors whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, whom they voted for or whether they’ve given money to any political causes.
However, attorneys were permitted to ask 42 questions aimed at rooting out whether they lean Republican or Democrat. Among them:
- “Do you currently follow Donald Trump on any social media site or have you done so in the past?”
- “Do you have any political, moral, intellectual, or religious beliefs or opinions which might prevent you from following the court’s instructions on the law or which might slant your approach to this case?”
- “Do you listen to talk radio?”
- “Have you ever attended a rally or campaign event for Donald Trump?”
What is Trump charged with?
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged effort to keep salacious — and, he says, bogus — stories about his sex life from emerging during his 2016 campaign.
The charges center on $130,000 in payments that Trump’s company made to his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen. He paid that sum on Trump’s behalf to keep Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, from going public, a month before the election, with her claims of a sexual encounter with the married mogul a decade earlier.
Prosecutors say the payments to Cohen were falsely logged as legal fees to cloak their actual purpose. Trump’s lawyers say the disbursements were legal expenses, not a cover-up.
Trump has denied the allegations.
What will the jury decide?
Jurors in this trial will listen to testimony and decide whether Trump is guilty of any of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Their decision to convict or acquit must be unanimous.
If they cannot agree on a verdict, the judge can declare a mistrial. If jurors have a reasonable doubt that Trump is guilty, they must acquit him.
If they convict him, the judge will be the one who decides the sentence, not the jurors.
Will Trump be in court often?
New York state law requires that Trump attend the entirety of his trial.
Even when he wasn’t required to attend, however, the former president in recent months has regularly ditched the campaign trail to show up in court alongside his lawyers in multiple cases.
The judge can remove Trump from the courtroom following a warning if Trump “conducts himself in so disorderly and disruptive a manner that his trial cannot be carried on with him in the courtroom.”
Trump has indicated he is willing to testify.
The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.