CNN
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There are currently two criminal trials pending against Donald Trump.
In a Manhattan courtroom, the judge, attorneys on both sides, and potential jurors are working hard to lay the foundations for the fair trial that the former president and every other citizen are entitled to.
And the hypothetical trial that exists in President Trump’s rhetoric is a “rush to trial” led by “heartless thugs” and “highly contradictory judges” who are seen as Republican candidates. He claims it is a “Biden-inspired witch hunt.”
Get the latest information on President Trump’s criminal trial
In court on Tuesday, Trump was admonished by Judge Juan Melchan for making eye contact with potential jurors and muttering during questioning. But the incredibly rapid pace of the process confounded initial expectations that bringing perhaps the most famous person on the planet to justice would be an arduous and lengthy process. While there were occasional moments of levity in the courtroom, reminding us that Trump’s position makes him a unique defendant, the conversations all jurors had with the judge, defense attorneys, and prosecutors , which hinted at the seriousness of the situation that would unfold in the future. several weeks. For example, one potential juror stated: This man’s life is at stake, the country is at stake, and this is serious.”
As Trump’s hush money trial accelerates into a compelling second day with seven jurors seated, Trump steps up efforts to discredit the legal process and the legal system itself. . He has made a point that is his main defense and the main message of his campaign: that he is a persecuted victim who is being prosecuted because he intends to take back the White House in November. Reinforced. The former president’s strategy encapsulates one of the most significant challenges to the American court system in modern memory: No matter what the jury decides, tens of millions of his supporters It is likely to leave stains on the eyes. And it exemplifies the unprecedented situation of the first former president to go on trial in the middle of an election contest that is being fought in multiple courts rather than in a battleground state.
But outside the courtroom, the former president was furious and made distorted comments about the sincere efforts inside the courtroom.
As the search for 12 jurors and their alternates was paused for the day, Trump spoke out about the crimes facing small business owners, often open all night, who serve immigrant communities in particular. To highlight the increase, I drove to the Yamanote shopping district. Trump was in his element, waving to crowds chanting “four more years” and “we love Trump” as foreign countries emptied prisons and asylums and sent waves of immigrants to American cities. He yelled a quote peppered with falsehoods that he was sending. .
At the raucous event, where he looked more like a mayoral candidate than a presidential candidate, he made two points. First, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg should be going after the “real” criminals, not him, and will attend the trial as his rival, President Joe Biden, sweeps through battleground states this week. Duty is keeping him away from campaigning. Pennsylvania.
“It’s Alvin Bragg’s fault. He goes after people like Trump who have done nothing wrong,” the former president said, standing under an ATM sign. In that scene, the man who has long been a master of self-promotion appeared to be putting up a front. New York Post page. “I’ll be campaigning locally, and that’s fine,” Trump said, capping off the street politicking in the city that made him famous. This would send a jury of 12 to control his legal fate, and possibly even his freedom.
President Trump is accused of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with him before he took office. Bragg’s theory about the incident is that through this alleged act, President Trump concealed important information from voters ahead of the 2016 election. Trump has maintained his innocence and denied having a sexual relationship with Daniels. This is just one of four trials looming over President Trump. Others have focused on his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and hoarding classified documents.
The current trial is not televised, meaning Trump has been deplatformed. But this restriction allows him to provide misleading daily commentary about what’s going on inside the courtroom, which many viewers in conservative media will learn about the case. Became.
In accordance with the four-day weekly court schedule, the hearing will be adjourned on Wednesday. President Trump is scheduled to have dinner with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Mr. Duda is a nationalist and was one of the former president’s favorite foreign leaders during his term in office. Criminal defendants usually do not take time off from their trials to have dinner with the visiting president. The visit is yet another reminder of the unusual circumstances of the election, with President Trump’s legal fate at stake, and could be seen as a highly symbolic endorsement of Duda’s embattled friend.
As the trial reaches its first break, two things are already becoming clear.
First, the practice of criminal trials, which take place in thousands of courtrooms every day, means that the case is relentless. Despite the pretrial delay tactics and complex litigation common to all cases, there is little a former president can do to stop it. This sense of order was reflected in the steady progress in the number of jurors seated on Tuesday.
“It’s amazing how normal this situation is,” Mimi Roca, former head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “The criminal justice system, the jury system, is working as it should.”
The second big takeaway of the past two days is that Trump, who built his public persona as a ruthless real estate shark and told a victim on “The Apprentice” “You’re fired,” has now cast himself as a powerful man. He thinks he’s the president and has his own Boeing company. He takes him where he wants, when he wants, and he must cede complete control while the court is in session. He cannot act and is forced by a gag order not to attack witnesses or the families of court officials.
“I will not intimidate jurors in court,” Marchan told the former president’s lawyers while tweeting in court on Tuesday. This case was probably just another part of the conflict between President Trump and the judge. In previous civil cases, Mr. Trump challenged the sanctity of the court’s rules and clashed with other judges. The fact that his time is not his own is underscored by his complaint that he will miss next week’s U.S. Supreme Court hearing stemming from a federal election interference trial. Mr. Machan also complained that the judge would not allow him to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation, although no decision has been made on the matter yet.
Tuesday’s jury selection process may offer some relief for those wondering whether the former Republican president, who has alienated his opponents, will receive a free trial in New York. There is significant debate among legal scholars and partisans about whether Mr. Bragg’s case constitutes legal overreach and whether Mr. Trump is guilty of the alleged acts. But potential jurors appeared to take their duties very seriously. What’s notable is that a large group admitted they couldn’t honestly say they could judge Trump fairly, evidence of the extreme reactions the former president provokes.
“I don’t think it’s going to be as fair and impartial as I thought it would be,” said one man who was forgiven.
But other prospective jurors said they would be able to put aside their political feelings toward Mr. Trump and focus on the evidence and the law. “Politically, I feel your client and I have a big disagreement,” one person said. “Some of the things he said I don’t care about. But there are a lot of people who say things I don’t care about,” she added. “But when I get here, those things don’t count. That has to go away.”
In a sign of the times, judges and lawyers spent hours combing through social media posts from potential jurors and their families, looking for evidence of bias. And in another apparent trend that hints at the former president’s political appeal, some prospective jurors believe that his rhetorical outpourings are unlike those of a traditional politician and more like those of someone who speaks his mind. He said that he considers it to be.
When a potential juror asked Mr. Marchan if attending his sister’s wedding in September was a reason not to go to trial, the judge replied, “If you were still here in September, that would be a big deal.” That’s a problem,” he replied, drawing laughter from the courtroom.
Jury consultant Robert Hirshhorn told CNN’s Burnett that Trump should be satisfied with the process so far. “This is a mixed group. That’s exactly what you want.” He added, “The former president found some pretty good jurors today.”
President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to agree to his claim to expand presidential immunity in an effort to derail his case. But so far, his hush money trial suggests that despite the former president’s undiluted thirst for power, all Americans remain equal under the law. .
Forensic artist Christine Cornell, who has sketched some of the most notorious defendants in modern history, including crime boss John Gotti and financier Bernie Madoff, has been drawing Trump for years. She best recalled Trump’s new reality when she spoke to CNN on Tuesday. “That’s just a human being. He’s just a guy in a pinch.”
