First day of arguments celebrated

NEW YORK (EFE).— Today begins the opening arguments phase in the trial against former President Donald Trump in New York.

The tycoon is accused of participating in a scheme with his then-lawyer Michael Cohen and others to influence the 2016 elections by suppressing information negative for his image.

This plan included an alleged payment of $130,000 to silence former porn actress Stormy Daniels from publicizing Trump’s relationship with her at a time when his wife Melania was pregnant.

Last week the process began and Trump thus became the first former president of the country to undergo a criminal trial.

The jury selection process concluded last Friday after the six substitute members were appointed, who were chosen from a total of twenty-two candidates and thus join the twelve regular members, seven men and five women, already selected.

Among the elected members is a woman of Spanish origin who passed the suitability filters applied by Judge Juan Merchán, in charge of the case, the prosecutor’s office and the former ruler’s defense lawyers.

However, multiple candidates were discarded after stating that they suffered anxiety or doubts about the prospect of having to be part of the jury.

Other cases

Also held on Friday was a hearing in which prosecutors confirmed that if Trump takes the stand in this criminal trial, he will also be asked about his other legal battles, including two high-profile civil convictions for which he has been convicted in New York. .

They also asked Judge Juan Merchán for permission to question the former president about alleged sexual attacks committed against other women, a matter on which the magistrate could rule today.

The exmadatario appeared on April 4, 2023 before the judge of the New York court in Manhattan, heard the notification of the charges against him and pleaded not guilty.

He is accused of 34 felonies related to his attempt to silence Stormy Daniels, who in 2016 sought to sell her story about the sexual relations she allegedly had with the former president a decade earlier.

Each of the crimes could land Trump a prison sentence of up to 4 years.

The defense is expected to harshly attack the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses, particularly Michael Cohen, Trump’s then-right-hand man, who made the payment to Stormy Daniels and pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating campaign finance and other laws. federal.

Judge Merchán this week expressed concern about the safety of the jury and said he would prohibit journalists from revealing any information about the current and past work histories of jurors, as well as exposing physical characteristics that make them identifiable.

The Manhattan case is the first of the four criminal cases that Trump faces to go to trial, it is also the sharpest personally and it may be the only one to be held before the presidential elections next November.

In addition to this process in New York, Trump will also have to respond in courts in Georgia and Washington DC for his alleged attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election that he lost against the current Democratic president, Joe Biden.

And in Florida, for the accusation of illegally removing and keeping classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago mansion that he removed from the White House after leaving power.