The moment of truth for Donald Trump: The first criminal trial against the former president begins in New York. usa elections

Twelve of the 1.4 million adults living in Manhattan are set to become the first Americans to prosecute the country’s former president. The criminal trial against Donald Trump for allegedly bribing a porn actress to buy her silence will introduce dystopian elements typical of a blockbuster to the city, and others: a massive deployment of security forces and secret agents, tinted windows. With the caravan of; Two prohibited areas, or “non-zones” as they are called in English, around the Manhattan Criminal Court and Trump Tower – where the accused will remain during the trial – and Orwellian surveillance on social networks to detect any threats.

Although Trump has vigorously protested, hoping to postpone four of his criminal trials until after the November elections – the cases would be put on hold if he is re-elected – he has not succeeded in the one in New York, which known as stormy daniels casea battery of 34 series E felonies, the lightest of the category of serious violations in that state, for falsifying accounting entries to cover up Daniels’ bribery in 2016 (assuming the extramarital affair would not harm his electoral career); The payment was, in fact, recorded as “legal expenses”. Trump, who denies the allegations, will sit on the bench starting this Monday for six to eight weeks, with the process expected to run with daily sessions except the Wednesday recess.

He will do so away from the public eye, as New York State laws prohibit it from being televised, but the swarm of cameras at the court entrance and in the corridor leading to the courtroom will give him an invaluable loudspeaker in the middle. election campaign. The voices of the candidate and the accused will merge into one, the voice of the victim of political persecution, as he has been presenting for months to public opinion and, above all, to his followers. The harassment has also given him good electoral results in the primaries and financial results, as he has made abundant money after each accusation. But the enormous legal expenses involved in facing four criminal proceedings and two other civil proceedings have drained his campaign coffers, a transfer of money from the candidate to the accused that some Republicans believe is unfair.

Several hundred Manhattan residents will be summoned to convene the jury, which is expected to last one to two weeks but may be delayed due to objections from prosecutors and the defense. This is a critical period of the process: both the prosecution and defense will attempt to detect hidden biases with the help of a 42-question questionnaire. In the selection, candidates will be questioned not about their opinions or political affiliation, but about their sources of information – the form consists of twenty, including traditional media, social networks and the box “I do not follow the news”. -, if they have worked for Trump or attended one of his rallies, and if they have ever been a member of the Proud Boys, so-called trump army, some of whose terrorists participated in the 2021 attack on the Capitol, or the QAnon conspiracy movement, which spread anti-system rumors for Trump’s greater electoral glory. They will also be asked if they have any feelings or have formed any opinions about how the Republican nominee is being treated in this case, whatever the answer, it’s a slippery question.

The magistrate in the case, Colombian-born Juan Merchan, issued a gag order or gag order barring the former president from attacking prosecutors, witnesses, court staff and the judge’s own relatives, following a series of angry posts from the tycoon Is. On his Truth Social platform. This is not the first time that a magistrate tries to curb his incontinence, but past cases confirm that setting limits is almost impossible, even if it means being held in contempt. In the civil lawsuit over trading fraud, for which he has been sentenced to pay $464 million (about 435.6 million euros), the judge even had to ask lawyers to restrain his troubled client. And this stormy daniels case, littered with dirty laundry, lends itself particularly well to oral stimulation. Judge Merchan has so far sidelined the defence.

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The Republican has already announced his intention to testify – on legal advice, he may decline to do so so as not to incriminate himself – but it would be another unprecedented moment in a trial filled with unrevealed details. Many legal experts doubt that you would actually have to risk answering a series of very personal questions under oath, otherwise you would commit perjury. During a press conference held with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, at Mar-a-Lago (Palm Beach) this week, Trump, when asked about the trial, assured: “I will absolutely testify.” But, unpredictable as ever, it can’t be ruled out that he’ll be involved in a scare.

Their lawyers hope for an acquittal or for the jurors to abstain – requiring unanimity to reach a verdict – which could lead to a mistrial. If the former president is convicted, each count faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

The Manhattan trial may be Trump’s only trial before the election. The two federal cases, as well as another state case in Georgia, could be postponed until after the vote. However, the first criminal trial in history of a former president represents a definite clash between Trump’s legal ordeal and his presidential ambitions. This process will transform a presidential campaign in unprecedented ways. The accused will be a candidate again on Wednesday and weekend. But the fact that he has moved part of his campaign team to New York suggests that he will take advantage of each appearance in court for his general notoriety. If, in addition, he raises more money for his ill-fated campaign, he may get some benefit from this ordeal.

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