More alternate jurors seated in Trump trial
FOX News senior correspondent Eric Shawn reports on a “very emotional day in court” and FOX News contributor Andy McCarthy talks about former President Trump asking a New York judge to lift the gag order is reacting to.
Opening arguments in former President Trump's historic and unprecedented criminal trial are scheduled to begin Monday morning, with the judges also set to rule on several motions that could make the trial even more difficult for the former president. is expected.
All 12 jurors and six alternate jurors were selected and were sworn in on Friday after four days of jury selection.
Judge Juan Melchán, who is presiding over the trial, on Friday instructed jurors not to discuss or research anything related to the former president's case on weekends or while serving as jurors.
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Marchand said opening arguments will be delivered by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's team and Trump's defense team.
Former President Trump attends the first day of his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 15, 2024 in New York City. (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP Pool)
Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records. The charges relate to hush money allegedly paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has denounced the trial as pure politics and “political persecution” and maintains his innocence. The former president, the first to be a defendant in a criminal trial, vowed to “tell the truth” if he takes his stand.
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President Trump's lawyer, Will Schaaf, told Fox News Channel on Sunday that the lawsuit should never have been filed and that the facts are on his client's side.
“While prosecutors and the media are eager to sensationalize this case, we are focused on the facts because the facts show that President Trump did nothing wrong.” said Schaaf. “This was a business records case, and those business records accurately reflected payments made to one of President Trump's attorneys for legal representation fees. Furthermore, those records were in fact President Trump's He was busy running the country from the White House, while President Trump was busy running the country. This happened at Trump Tower in New York.
The former president is the subject of a gag order imposed on Mr Marchand last month before his trial began. Mr. Marchan said President Trump made public statements or directed others about potential participants, including witnesses, attorneys in cases other than Mr. Bragg, court officials, DA's office employees, and family members of those employees. I ordered that I could not do that.
Marchand also ordered Trump not to make public statements or direct others about potential jurors or selected jurors. But on Saturday, he went on a rant in an all-caps rant on social media platforms.
President Trump told TruthSocial: “This fraudulent 'rush' trial, taking place in a 95% Democratic area, is a planned and coordinated witch hunt that may have been launched eight years ago, but everyone It passed,” he wrote. “Instead, they waited and brought it into the middle of my presidential campaign against the worst and most incompetent president in history, crooked Joe Biden. Perhaps the most divisive judge in the history of the judiciary came out of this hoax. I should be eliminated, but I'm presiding over this trial.'' Immediately, I did nothing wrong! ”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Mr. Bragg argued during the first week of the trial that Mr. Trump had violated the gag order more than seven times and was seeking to pay a $1,000 fine. In his motion, Bragg asked the judge to warn the former president that additional violations could result in up to 30 days in prison.
Mr. Trump and his lawyers argue that the former president and alleged Republican presidential candidate should not be bound by the gag order, not only because of his First Amendment rights but also because of his supporters. They argued that it also violated First Amendment rights.
The judge is expected to rule by early next week on whether President Trump actually violated the order.
Former President Trump listens to attorney Todd Blanche during a press conference at 40 Wall Street after a pretrial hearing in New York City on March 25, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Also on Monday, Marchan said Bragg's team would decide what evidence could be used in efforts to “discredit” the former president if Bragg testifies in his own defense.
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Mr. Bragg said in a filing last week that he intended to use Mr. Trump's past allegations of “illegal conduct and criminal conduct” to discredit Mr. Trump.
However, Trump has never been convicted of a crime.
Bragg's office cited information from New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against the former president and New York Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling after a months-long non-jury civil fraud trial against Trump and his family. He said he intended to do so.
A courtroom sketch shows former President Trump before Judge Juan Machan in Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday, April 15, 2024. (Kristin Cornell)
Engoron is accused by President Trump of fraud, “falsification of business records,'' “issuance of false financial statements,'' “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,'' “insurance fraud,'' and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.'' It was decided that there was.
Trump was required to pay a reduced judgment bond of $175 million when he appeals the verdict.
Bragg says he plans to 'discredit' Trump if he testifies for defense in criminal trial
The trial was held without a jury. Trump's lawyers on Friday objected to any cross-examination of the former president in connection with the James case and the Engoron decision, citing the Appellate Division's decision to hold the judgment on appeal.
But prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said the findings from Engoron showed “sustained and repeated fraud and illegality.” The Appellate Division suspended the ruling but said nothing about the merits of the case, Colangelo said.
Judge Juan Machan in a New York courtroom on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Meanwhile, Mr. Bragg's office will also use information obtained from E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit against Mr. Trump, among others.
Trump's lawyers said Friday that any “evidence” that Bragg's team wants to use is “merely a distraction.”
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President Trump told reporters last week that he planned to testify for the defense at trial, saying, “I will tell the truth.”
Marchand said he would hold off on making a decision on what information prosecutors could cross-examine the president with until Monday morning.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.