Takeaways from Day One of Trump’s hush-money-trial – The Washington Post
The first day of the first-ever criminal trial of a former president has officially concluded. Defendant and former president Donald Trump was present and called the proceeding an “assault on America.”
At the outset, lawyers spent hours arguing about how much of Trump’s tabloid-fueled sex life should be described to the jury. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan made clear he wanted the lawyers to show restraint, and at one point when things started to get tense, the judge urged lawyers to “sit down, relax.”
Jury selection began by midafternoon. More than half of the first batch of 96 prospective jurors were promptly dismissed after they said — by a show of hands — they didn’t think they could be impartial when it came to judging Trump. Not a single juror was selected on Monday and the selection process will continue on Tuesday.
Here are our key takeaways from the day. For a refresher on the details of the case, here is an article laying out the basics.
Merchan and the lawyers spent the bulk of the morning debating how much of Trump’s alleged sexual indiscretions the jury should be permitted to hear at trial.
In the wake of the October 2016 revelation by The Washington Post that Trump had been caught on an “Access Hollywood” tape making crude, derogatory remarks about grabbing women, several others came forward to claim he had sexually assaulted or otherwise mistreated them.
Prosecutors said in court that they had wanted to mention the accusations — at least in general terms — to highlight that Trump was “obsessed with addressing these allegations.” Prosecutors said that these details would help show the jury that Trump was worried about how the claims could alienate female voters. That, prosecutors said, helps explain why Trump wanted so dearly on the eve of the 2016 election to cover up his alleged encounter with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
Merchan sided with Trump’s lawyers and ruled that most of the allegations about Trump sexually abusing or harassing women would not be permitted at trial. The judge called such accusations “very, very prejudicial,” saying they amounted to nothing more than rumor and gossip.
Trump’s courtroom behavior has been the subject of intense speculation, particularly because he was so outspoken earlier this year in federal court when writer E. Jean Carroll sued him for sexual assault and defamation. In court on Monday, Merchan gave Trump a standard warning that if he disrupted court or didn’t appear for trial, he could be punished and possibly sent to jail. Trump indicated he understood the judge’s warning.
The jury selection process could get extra interesting as Trump’s lawyers said he intends to be present for sidebar questioning of individual jurors. That’s a complicated thing in this case, since as the judge noted, where Trump goes, the Secret Service goes.
Trump is allowed to participate in sidebars because New York state court has long recognized what’s known as a defendant’s “Antommarchi rights.” A criminal defendant in New York has the right to be present at all stages of relevant questioning of potential jurors, including when a judge has a sidebar to discuss a private issue of a prospective juror, so they can see a potential juror’s facial reactions to questions and discussions. Therefore, Trump may be physically close to the prospective jurors and deeply involved with the selection process.
The former president “wants to be present at everything,” his attorney Todd Blanche said.
Merchan said however that, for logistical reasons, he may have jurors stay in the courtroom and instead have the other prospective jurors leave for such questioning, rather than trying to herd an expedition of lawyers, Secret Service agents, Trump, and a court reporter, into a small jury room for private discussions.
On the first day of jury selection, lawyers spent the morning wrangling over legal issues and didn’t hear from the first prospective juror until midafternoon. By the end of the day, they’d heard from just 10 prospective jurors.
And of the first 96 potential jurors that entered Merchan’s courtroom, more than half immediately raised their hands to say they could not be impartial and were dismissed by the judge.
Those who remained who thought they could be fair will now face dozens of written questions, and likely follow-up inquiries to see if the lawyers and the judge think they are suitable. This voir dire process of bringing in hundreds of people to eventually get a panel of 12 plus alternates could last a while.
Questions? Email us at perry.stein@washpost.com and devlin.barrett@washpost.com and check for answers in future newsletters.
Or, watch and submit questions for our live reader Q&A on Wednesday at 2 p.m. here.
Check out our first episode of The Washington Post’s new podcast on video and audio, recapping and analyzing the first day of Trump’s New York trial.
We’ve been getting a lot of questions in our inboxes about the New York trial. We’ll try to answer as many as we can.
Q. Does Trump have to be present in court each day for the duration of the trial?
Trump was present for the first day of jury selection and is expected to be there every day for the rest of the trial. Merchan gave Trump the standard rundown of what is expected of criminal defendants, advising him on Monday that he is required to be present every day to help in his defense. He added that he could lose his right to be there if he disrupts the proceedings. The judge warned that if he failed to appear, a warrant would be issued for his arrest and he could be committed to prison.
Trump has asked the judge to recess the trial one day so that he can attend his son Barron’s high school graduation on May 17. The judge did not guarantee that and said it would depend on whether the trial is running on schedule. (Trump later complained to reporters that the judge would not allow him to see his son graduate and called the trial a “scam.”)
Sometimes a defendant can skip pretrial proceedings, but they are typically required to be present for the actual trial. The New York trial — and possibly some of his other three criminal trials — are occurring smack in the middle of his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump and his lawyers have argued to the judges in the various criminal cases that the trials should be pushed back until after the elections because they will prevent him from campaigning, stifling his freedom of speech.
The New York trial could last six to eight weeks, occurring four days a week. Merchan reserves Wednesdays to hold hearings and address matters in his other cases.
Trump and campaign officials have privately complained that breaking on Wednesdays — instead of on Fridays or Mondays — makes it harder for Trump to travel across the country for campaign events, according to people familiar with the campaign.
Thanks for reading the first of what will be frequent mid-trial newsletter updates. You can find past issues of The Trump Trials here.