is making history as the first former president to stand trial on criminal charges as his hush money case gets underway today with jury selection .
Merchan put his foot down at 24 hours, noting that the defense team has had weeks to go through the material and had filed many requests and appeals meanwhile.Judge Merchan announced that he would not issue a ruling today on the prosecutors' request to hold Trump in contempt of court for violating a gag order.Trial is back in sessionTrump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records — a felony charge that’s punishable by up to four years in prison.
During long trials, Manhattan judges often reserve a day each week for other cases. Merchan is keeping Wednesdays for mental health court, which he has overseen since its 2011 start, and a similar veterans’ docket he took on in 2019.Police say they are investigating a bomb threat at the home of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg from Monday morning. A police spokesperson says a 911 caller reported the threat shortly before 9 a.m.
“It’s not as if President Trump is going out and targeting individuals, he is responding to salacious, repeated vehement attacks by these witnesses.”Judge Merchan cuts off yet another tangential debate about procedures for filing motions, saying there are 500 jurors waiting and he isn't"interested in getting into this minutia."
The court is taking a 10 minute break. They are expected to continue arguments over pretrial motions when court returns.The judge has also handed Trump some important wins - Access Hollywood tape and Trump’s deposition in E. Jean Carroll case *won’t* be played for this jury; state also *can’t* bring in sexual assault allegations made by 3 women in 2016The National Enquirer helped boost Trump’s 2016 candidacy by identifying and suppressing negative stories — a practice known as “catch and kill.
Merchan ruled that he will allow the exhibits Steinglass outlined under a state law allowing evidence of alleged prior bad actsThe judge said there will be no trial on any Wednesdays or on April 29. But if the trial starts to run long, he said he reserves the right to convene trial on Wednesday afternoons.
Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)
Trump Trial Hush Money Criminal Charges Jury Selection
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