CNN
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A New York appeals court has denied Donald Trump’s request to change the venue of his upcoming hush money trial.
Lawyers for the former president argued Monday that Trump will not receive a fair jury in New York and asked the court to postpone the trial to consider whether to change the venue.
However, Associate Judge Lizbeth Gonzalez immediately denied the motion to halt the trial after hearing Monday’s arguments, and there was no further discussion of the motion to change the venue.
Trump’s lawyers filed the petition in the state appellate court early in the morning, a week before the trial began.
Trump’s lawyers also objected to Judge Juan Machan’s gag order barring Trump from publicly discussing witnesses in future trials, a motion filed by court and district attorney’s office officials and family members. It was revealed that he was doing It was not discussed Monday.
At a hearing in the Court of Appeals on Monday, Trump’s attorney Emile Bove rehashed the investigation and media investigation the former president cited in a motion for a delay filed against Marchand based on pretrial publicity. A judge has not ruled on the motion.
“This case is isolated in terms of pretrial publicity in this county,” Bove said.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers argue that based on the findings, jury selection will not proceed in a fair manner next week in New York County, where Manhattan is located, and that the trial will be held until the change of venue motion is resolved. I once again asked for a delay.
Stephen Wu, appellate director for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, argued that it was too late for Trump’s lawyers to file the petition so close to the start of the trial. He said the proper procedure would be for Mr. Trump to renew his request for a change of venue if he believes that an impartial jury cannot be selected from New York County during the jury selection process.
Wu said the issue is not what President Trump’s polls say, but whether jury selection will be able to select 12 impartial jurors and alternates.
“Throughout this argument, the defendants have assumed that the publicity here is inherently prejudicial. The facts do not support this,” Wu said. Wu said most of the articles provided “equitable coverage” of the case and summarized the charges. He argued that this type of incident attracts international attention.
There is nothing in Mr. Trump’s filing to suggest that New York County is uniquely saturated with media coverage or that New Yorkers in the county are uniquely incapable of being impartial, Wu said. insisted.
“The mere fact that the jury knew about this case does not indicate bias,” Wu said. “This means that the defendant is coming into this argument with dirty hands, because much of the publicity is his own.”
A jury questionnaire for the hush money trial was also released on Monday. Potential jurors were asked where in the city they lived, where they got their news, whether they had attended rallies of the former president, and whether they had ties to groups such as the Proud Boys or Proud Boys. A wide range of questions are asked, including: With the QAnon movement.
Potential jurors were asked about their feelings about Trump and asked if they or someone they know had been to a Trump rally or had any ties to Trump’s campaign, administration, or Trump. You will be asked if you have worked or volunteered for any other political organization. They will also be asked if they have ever attended any anti-Trump groups or events. However, there are no clear questions about which political party they belong to, who they voted for, or who they have made political donations to.
In addition to watching the news, jurors may read books or podcasts by Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former lawyer and a key witness in the case against him, or former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who has written several books. You will be asked if you have ever heard of it. A book about this incident.
Jury selection for the hush money trial is scheduled to begin on April 15th.
This heading and article have been updated with additional developments.
