HISTORIC TRIAL
Donald Trump glares in Manhattan court after judge refuses to leave trial – and declares ‘200M Americans’ are behind him
The judge made some rulings on crucial evidence in the trial
FORMER President Donald Trump glared in a Manhattan courtroom for the start of jury selection in his criminal hush money trial.
The historic trial against Trump marks the first time a former US president will be tried on criminal charges.
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The charges, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last year, stem from a $130,000 payment Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, allegedly made to adult star Stormy Daniels a month before the 2016 presidential election.
The alleged payment was made to keep Daniels, 45, quiet from going public with allegations about her affair with Trump.
Trump, 77, has publicly denied having a sexual encounter with the adult actress.
The former president is accused of repaying Cohen in installments by marking them as legal fees in company records.
Trump seethed at reporters as he made his way into the Downtown Manhattan courtroom, calling the trial an "assault on America."
"This is an assault on America. Nothing like this has ever happened before, there's never been anything like it," the 2024 Republican presidential candidate said.
"Every legal scholar said this case is nonsense. It should never have been brought, it doesn't deserve anything like this.
"There is no case, and they've said it. People that don't necessarily follow or, like Donald Trump said, this is an outrage that this case was brought.
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"This is political persecution. This is a persecution like never before. Nobody has ever seen anything like it, and again, it's a case that should have never been brought."
Trump continued, "It's an assault on America, and that's why I'm very proud to be here. This is an assault on our country, and it's a country that's failing.
Most expensive Donald Trump assets the former president faces losing as deadline to pay $454m fraud penalty nears
"It's a country that's run by an incompetent man who's very much involved in this case. This is really an attack on a political opponent that's all it is."
Trump is required to be present for the entire trial, which could last as long as eight weeks.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche said Trump intends to be present during the trial, but there may be an occasion that would merit his absence.
Presiding Judge Juan Merchan warned the former president that if he fails to show up to court without any explanation, a warrant will be issued for his arrest.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, a low-level felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
The former president has twice requested Merchan's removal, citing the justice's daughter's employment as a Democratic political consultant.
However, Merchan has declined to step aside, citing a ruling by a judicial ethics commission that found his daughter's work did not conflict with his duties.
EVIDENCE ALLOWED
Merchan said he will allow a series of National Enquirer stories slamming Trump's opponents into evidence.
Prosecutors claim that during the summer of 2015, Michael Cohen met with David Pecker, the publisher of the National Enquirer, to work on a deal to help Trump's presidential campaign.
Pecker agreed to be the "eyes and ears" for the Trump campaign by looking out for negative stories about him and flagging them to Cohen before they were published, according to prosecutors.
In one instance, the tabloid paid Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, who wanted to sell her story of an affair with Trump.
McDougal alleged she had a monthslong affair with Trump in 2006 and was paid $150,000 to keep quiet about it by the National Enquirer.
The former president has denied the affair.
Merchan will allow McDougal's testimony but said the jury does not need to hear that the alleged affair occurred while Melania Trump was pregnant.
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However, the judge believes the Access Hollywood tapes, where Trump allegedly brags about groping women, should not be shown to the jury.
Merchan will also not allow the deposition of writer E. Jean Carrol, who accused Trump of sexual assault, to be presented.
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