Jury selection in former President Trump’s historic and unprecedented criminal trial stemming from charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is expected to resume Thursday morning.
Bragg has charged Trump, the 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee, with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges are related to alleged hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts. He has blasted the trial as pure politics, a “political persecution,” and maintains his innocence. The former president is expected to testify during his trial.
I tell the truth,” Trump said last week, when asked about his possible testimony.Trump is the first president in United States history to stand criminal trial.By the end of jury selection on Tuesday, seven jurors had been selected and sworn in. The jury pool so far includes four men and three women, all living in New York City. Their professions include law, finance, nursing, technology and more.Court will not meet for the trial on Wednesdays, and the third day of jury selection is expected to begin at 9:30 a.m. in Lower Manhattan.Tuesday, the second day of the trial, brought a filing from Bragg, who argued that Trump should be held in contempt of court for violating the gag order imposed upon him by Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the trial.Bragg and prosecutors are arguing that Trump must pay a $1,000 fine each for three alleged violations of the gag order, with all relating to social media posts.In the motion, Bragg urged the judge to warn Trump that “future violations” of the gag order can be punished “not only with additional fines, but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days.”
