Within minutes, Judge Juan Merchan rejected a second request from the Republican to withdraw from proceedings related to hush-money payments to a porn star on grounds of bias. Last week, Trump’s lawyers filed three motions that would have delayed the trial. They were all rejected.
The 77-year-old is threatened with consequences for the presidential election at the beginning of November: According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, a quarter of Republicans do not want to vote for Trump if he is convicted by a jury.
Manhattan jury
The selection of twelve jury members and six substitutes marks the start of the process and is expected to take around a week. The jurors come from Manhattan, a predominantly Democratic district.
Picture gallery: Criminal trial against former US President Trump begins
(Photo: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU (AFP)) Bild 1/21
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Merchan recently published a list of questions that all candidates had to answer before being questioned by their respective lawyers. Among other things, they requested information about what media they use, whether they have ever attended a Trump event and whether they support movements such as QAnon, Proud Boys or Antifa.
Four criminal proceedings are ongoing
The charges against Trump were also brought by a jury. A grand jury accused him of falsifying business records related to a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election. One of his lawyers paid her $130,000 for her silence about a sexual encounter with Trump. According to her account, this is said to have taken place in 2006. Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with the woman. However, he admitted that he had reimbursed the lawyer for payments made to Stormy Daniels. Trump rejects the allegations themselves – 34 individual charges. They are brought forward by New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges. A total of four criminal proceedings are ongoing against him. He has pleaded not guilty to all four counts, arguing they were politically motivated. According to legal experts, the other three cases are actually more serious: Trump is accused of involvement in election fraud and unlawful handling of confidential documents. However, these processes have been postponed and may no longer take place before the election.
Consequences of the process unclear
It is unclear what consequences the process will have for the election. There has never been a situation like this before, said political expert Kyle Kondik from the University of Virginia. “And we also have a long history in which Trump has shown himself to be quite resilient.”
In fact, the businessman’s previous legal entanglements have not affected his popularity. Another Reuters/Ipsos poll recently showed a lead for the Democratic presidential candidate and incumbent Joe Biden. However, a close outcome is expected, not least because of the comparatively complicated election process.
