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The ex-US President’s lawyers are trying to delay the process in every possible way.
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The questions that will be asked during the selection of jurors in the criminal trial of “hush pay” for porn star Stormy Daniels, in which former US President Donald Trump will appear in New York State Court in Manhattan, have become known.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin next week, April 15.
The day before, on Monday, a state appeals court rejected a last-ditch attempt by Trump’s lawyers to delay the case, asking for a judge to be replaced.
On the same day, a court order was published containing questions on a questionnaire to be filled out by New York State residents summoned to appear as jury candidates.
In addition to the usual background information, candidates will be asked to indicate whether they are involved in any organizations or groups supporting or opposing the ex-president.
They will also be asked about what media they watch and read and what social networks they are on (actively participating in discussions or just following).
There are also more exotic questions in the questionnaire. For example, whether potential jurors listen to podcasts or how they feel about their country’s former president being tried in a criminal case.
Such “personal” questions are formulated as follows:
- “Do you have a strong opinion or strong belief on the issue of whether a former president can be prosecuted in state court?”
- “Do you have any feelings or opinions about the way Trump is being treated in this case?”
Among the residents of Manhattan, where Trump himself lived for many years, Democrats predominate. Therefore, the politician complained that he could not count on the impartiality of the court in this jurisdiction.
Experts explained to the BBC that jury selection would indeed pose some difficulty. “It can be done, but it will be hard,” said former Brooklyn prosecutor Julie Rendelman.
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Delaying tactics
Last year, the former US president was indicted on criminal charges of paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels (with whom Trump allegedly had an affair) hush money ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The fact of the transfer of money to the actress was confirmed, although in the reports of Trump’s parent company this payment was recorded as a fee for the services of his then lawyer Michael Cohen.
Trump himself has not pleaded guilty to falsifying documents and continues to claim that this criminal case – like his other problems with the law – is the result of political persecution.
Trump’s lawyers are trying to drag out all criminal trials against the ex-president as much as possible and have achieved some success in this.
In particular, at the end of last year they declared that Trump has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for any actions committed while president. Few American lawyers share this view; two federal judges rejected this argument without hesitation, but it took months and reached the Supreme Court, which will begin hearing the case on April 25.
Because of this, the Manhattan case is the only Trump trial that has a chance of ending before the November presidential election. All trials of Trump in federal courts are effectively frozen pending a decision by the Supreme Court.
If Trump wins the election, all cases against him will have to be suspended, in addition, he will be able to order prosecutors to drop criminal cases altogether.
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2024-04-09 19:09:43
