After a tense week of jury selection, Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial truly gets underway in earnest on Monday morning with opening statements from the prosecution and defence.
The 12 jurors and six alternates will then begin hearing evidence against the former president and his counter–argument before ultimately deciding his fate.
Judge Juan Merchan is also expected to rule on whether Mr Trump’s previous misconduct and court cases can be included in proceedings.
The defendant spent much of the weekend complaining about the case on Truth Social and angrily posting his presidential immunity claims — on which the Supreme Court will hear arguments this Thursday.
Elsewhere among the myriad legal issues engulfing the former president, Monday will also see a hearing on whether to cancel Mr Trump’s $175m bond to appeal the civil fraud trial ruling and the public filing of witness statements in the classified documents case.
A planned rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, was called off at the last minute on Saturday due to bad weather, with Mr Trump instead sending a recorded message to supporters.
Meanwhile, Melania Trump returned to the campaign trail helping a conservative LGBT+ group raise $1m at a Mar-a-Lago dinner.
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Truth Social: Trump slams ‘Soros Funded’ Alvin Bragg after calling for trial gag order to be removed
Posts like these seem extremely unlikely to endear the defendant to Judge Merchan and Alvin Bragg but Trump keeps right on “truthing” them anyway.
The first – invoking the right’s favourite liberal bogeyman, billionaire financier George Soros – finds him dabbling in antisemitic conspiracy theories to suggest the Manhattan DA is a puppet of shadowy and sinister forces. Entirely without evidence, of course.
That doesn’t stop him calling, with remarkable gall, for the removal of the gag order imposed on him by the judge.
Elsewhere, he’s been slamming the media for interviewing a former member of his own administration and threatening “non-profits” in a rather vague manner.
Joe Sommerlad22 April 2024 08:45
All the wild hush money case defences Trump has given so far
Former president Donald Trump’s legal team has used various defences for — and attempts to delay — his hush money case in which he is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2024 08:15
Will Trump’s hush money trial be on TV?
[Spoiler alert: No. You have to follow this blog. You’re welcome.]
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2024 07:15
How much time could Trump spend in jail if convicted?
Should Mr Trump ultimately be found guilty, he could theoretically face more than a decade in prison, according to CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates, who points out that the felony counts against Mr Trump are classified as Class E crimes in New York, which are the lowest level felonies in the state.
But there’s more to it than that…
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2024 06:15
Trump’s calender of chaos heats up
In a typical presidential election year, candidates will spend the 11 months leading up to election day shaking hands and kissing babies at rallies as the primaries unfold.
Instead, the ex-president will be forced to juggle his campaign for the White House while also defending himself in federal and state courts in four different cases that have hearings and trial dates scattered throughout 2024.
Ariana Baio breaks down what the former president is facing:
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2024 05:15
Judge Merchan to rule on what prosecutors can question Trump about if he testifies
Attorneys for Donald Trump told a judge overseeing the former president’s hush money trial on Friday that Manhattan prosecutors are merely trying to “distract” jurors and “pile things on” by introducing evidence from his string of other criminal and civil cases.
New York Justice Juan Merchan presided over a hearing to outline what prosecutors intend to ask Mr Trump if he chooses to testify at his criminal trial, including a defamation case and allegations of sexual abuse, a massive civil fraud judgment finding him liable for tens of millions of dollars, felony convictions targeting his business, and the dissolution of a namesake foundation used to boost his presidential campaign.
But the judge said that prosecutors’ request falls within the grounds of the so-called Sandoval hearing, during which a defendant with a history of misconduct or criminal acts who also plans to testify in his defence knows what they could be walking into.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2024 04:15
NY AG: Trump’s $175m bond in fraud case should be voided
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2024 03:15
Trump’s fate is in the hands of 18 New Yorkers: Who are they?
Mr Trump has repeatedly tried, and failed, to move the case out of the borough, where he baselessly smeared the borough as hopelessly biased against him.
And so, during jury selection in the trial, he sat and heard firsthand from a group of Manhattan residents who pledged that they would be fair and impartial in hearing the case against him.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2024 02:15
GOP lawmaker lashes out at Matt Gaetz by branding him a ‘scumbag’ and repeating sex and drug claims
Tony Gonzales of Texas was speaking to CNN when he was asked whether Speaker Mike Johnson would survive a motion to vacate his title being led by several lawmakers on the far right win of his party.
“He will survive,” Mr Gonzales said, before launching into his tirade…
John Bowden reports on what he said:
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2024 01:45
Melania Trump makes low-profile return to campaign trail
Melania Trump has returned to the campaign trail to support Donald Trump’s 2024 bid to win back the White House, in an understated at-home event in stark contrast to her husband’s loud, bombastic style.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2024 01:15