Trump Returns to Court Today as Jury Selection Stalls Over Bias Concerns

Today marks Donald Trump’s return to a New York courtroom as a judge endeavours to assemble a jury panel to determine his innocence or guilt regarding criminal charges accusing him of falsifying business records to conceal a scandal during the 2016 campaign.

The initial day of Trump’s groundbreaking trial in Manhattan was concluded without selecting a panel comprising 12 jurors and six alternates.

Numerous individuals were dismissed for expressing doubts about their impartiality, while many others await questioning.

This trial, the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to proceed to trial, might be the sole one with a verdict before November’s elections, where voters will decide if the presumptive Republican presidential nominee should reclaim the White House.

Trump’s legal battles now take centre stage in the closely contested race against President Joe Biden, with Trump portraying himself as a victim of a biased justice system aimed at thwarting his return to office.

Trump maintains his innocence against 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, alleging they were part of a bid to suppress fabricated stories about his personal life during the 2016 campaign.

Yesterday, Trump criticized the case brought by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg as a “scam” and “witch hunt.”

The charges revolve around $130,000 in payments made by Trump’s company to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to silence Adult actor Stormy Daniels about an alleged encounter with Trump from a decade earlier. Trump denies the encounter occurred.

Prosecutors contend that these payments were falsely documented as legal fees, forming part of a strategy to bury damaging stories that could have aided Trump’s opponent in the 2016 race, especially as his reputation faced scrutiny due to remarks about women.

While Trump acknowledges reimbursing Cohen for the payment, he maintains it was unrelated to the campaign.

Jury selection is expected to continue for several more days or weeks, given the densely populated Democratic demographics of the city where Trump has longstanding ties.

Only about a third of the initial 96 potential jurors remained after dismissals based on impartiality concerns, with over half excused for this reason. Another batch of potential jurors awaits questioning in subsequent days.

Source AP: