La Presse in New York | Curtain raises on a historic trial

(New York) Outside Manhattan Criminal Court, under a beneficent mid-April sun, a supporter of Donald Trump predicted to the Democrats a vengeance worthy of the greatest dictators after the 2024 presidential election.

“Donald Trump will be president and you will see the biggest wrecking ball in political history,” declared Dion Cini, waving flags in the colors of Trump, Don father and son, in a park where around a hundred Trumpists were gathered and even more journalists, Monday morning.

“Let your imagination run wild as to what revenge will be inflicted based on political history. How did Stalin take revenge? How did Mao take revenge? », added the 55-year-old New Yorker, in all seriousness.

Meanwhile, inside the court located in the southern part of the New York island, a much less expeditious justice was deployed in the presence of the former president, caught banging nails during the last preliminary requests of the two parties, which required the whole morning and part of the afternoon.

It was not until 2:30 p.m. that the first group of 96 potential jurors – out of a total of around 500 present – ​​entered Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom, marking the official start of the first trial. criminal offense against a former president of the United States.

When the judge informed potential jurors that Donald Trump faced 34 counts of falsifying business records, the 77-year-old defendant looked down and shook his head. He is on trial for having falsified or caused to be falsified 34 documents in order to conceal the payment of $130,000 made 12 days before the 2016 presidential election by his ex-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence about an alleged sexual relationship with him.

“A danger for democracy”

Before making his own entrance into the courtroom, around 9:30 a.m., Donald Trump described his trial as “political persecution” and “an assault on America”.

“That’s why I’m very proud to be here,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee told reporters, before falsely accusing his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, of being “very involved in this affair “.

Of the four criminal charges he faces, this may be the only one that will result in a trial and a verdict before the November election.

It may also be the last chance to reconcile Nadine Styler with her country of origin. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, this 50-year-old woman has lived in Maryland for almost 38 years.

“Donald Trump represents such a danger to our democracy,” she said, displaying a banner calling for the conviction of the ex-president.

The very idea that the Americans could send Donald Trump back to the White House makes him think about returning to live on his native island.

“I adhered to the American ideals, the system of checks and balances and all that goes with it. But when Trump was in power, we saw that it was just lip service. He violated everything, from the emolument clause to his oath of office, everything. This is why I am thinking of repatriating. »

Laborious selection

In the meantime, the laborious jury selection process is expected to last more than two weeks. The difficulty of the task was quickly revealed when at least half of the first 96 potential witnesses raised their hands to signal that they did not believe they were capable of judging Donald Trump impartially. The judge immediately released them.

Shortly before, he had read a partial list of witnesses who might be called to the stand during the trial. They included: Melania Trump, Rudolph Giuliani, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon.

A Harlem resident was removed from the jury after citing TikTok and Al Jazeera among her news sources and calling her opinions on the former president strong.

Jurors who said they were able to be impartial toward Trump then responded in writing to a list of 42 questions approved by the judge. Among the questions: “Do you listen to or watch podcasts?” If yes, which ones ? » ; “Have you ever considered yourself a supporter of or belonged to any of the following organizations: the QAnon movement; Proud Boys; Oathkeepers; Three Percenters; Boogaloo Boys; Antifa? » ; “Do you have an opinion on the legal limits on political contributions? »

By the end of the first day of the trial, no jurors had been chosen.

The jury selection process is sure to be accompanied by controversies, one of which could last until April 24.

In the morning, Manhattan prosecutors requested that Donald Trump be ordered to pay fines totaling at least $3,000 for violating the partial gag imposed by Judge Merchan in three messages published recently on Truth Social and attacking two witnesses, Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.

The judge initially indicated that he would make a decision after lunch. Then, upon his return to the courtroom, he announced that he would hear arguments from both sides on this issue on April 24. In the meantime, Donald Trump relayed on Truth Social a video of far-right activist Laura Loomer attacking Michael Cohen and the judge’s wife.

Something to please and displease

The latest pretrial motions provided a preview of the arguments both sides will present during the trial. After refusing to recuse himself at the request of Donald Trump, who accused him of being in a conflict of interest because of his daughter, a Democratic consultant, Judge Merchan announced a series of decisions likely to satisfy and upset either party.

He will not allow Manhattan prosecutors to allude to Donald Trump’s past sexual assault allegations or to play the video ofAccess Hollywood in which the ex-president boasts of being able to grab women’s genitals. But he will allow prosecutors to read the video transcript during the trial.

The judge will also allow prosecutors to question certain witnesses regarding the scheme that led to the National Enquirer to publish fictitious articles to harm Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, two Republican opponents of Donald Trump.

One of these articles claimed that the Texas senator’s father was involved in the assassination of John Kennedy.

The leaders of the National Enquirer also played a role in covering up the stories of Stormy Daniels and the playmate Karen McDougal.

Leaving the courtroom, Donald Trump denounced one of Judge Merchan’s decisions. The latter refused to allow him to be absent on a Wednesday in May to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation ceremony.

“My son is going to receive his high school diploma. It looks like the judge won’t let me attend the graduation of my son who has worked very, very hard and is an excellent student. This trial is a scam,” denounced Donald Trump.

However, he did not complain about the judge’s decision to prohibit prosecutors from raising the fact that Melania had barely given birth when Stormy Daniels and playmate Karen McDougal claims to have slept with him.