Trump trial latest: Manhattan DA warns nothing will be off limits if he takes stand – The Independent

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Third day of jury selection begins at 9.30am ET on Thursday, with seven jurors already selected
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Donald Trump will be asked about previous allegations of misconduct and crimes — including instances of sexual abuse and fraud — if he takes the stand at his historic hush money trial.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg revealed a list that includes “all misconduct and criminal acts of the defendant not charged in the indictment” that his office “intend to use at trial to impeach the credibility of” the former president, should he testify, according to a court filing.
Proceedings in the trial are gathering pace with seven jurors now confirmed. The selection process will resume on Thursday.
Mr Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election to ensure her silence about an alleged affair in 2006. He denies the affair and has pleaded not guilty.
After Tuesday’s day in court, Mr Trump lashed out bitterly at Mr Bragg during a visit to a Harlem bodega to make a statement about crime in New York.
With court not in session on Wednesday, the former president also attacked various enemies and court procedures on Truth Social.
A potential juror in Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial made reference to the former president’s infamous 1989 Central Park Five newspaper advertisements, in which he campaigned to bring back the death penalty despite the wrongful conviction of five teenagers.
Mike Bedigan has the story:
The then-businessman ran newspaper adverts in 1989 after five teenagers were all wrongfully convicted of the rape and beating of a jogger in Central Park
Melania Trump, while noticeably absent from many of her husband’s campaign events, has reportedly voiced her opposition to his hush money trial that began Monday.
In recent private conversations, Ms Trump called the trial “a disgrace” and tantamount to election interference, a source close to the Trumps with direct knowledge of her comments told The New York Times.
Katie Hawkinson has the story:
The former first lady’s comments follow a string of absences from her husband’s campaign events
About 6,000 jurors have been sent subpoenas and about 1,500 were called to appear on Monday by the Manhattan Criminal Courts for former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial.
They will be whittled down to just 12 individuals to make up the jury in the case, plus six alternates.
Gustaf Kilander reports:
‘The profile of attitudes that each side is looking for is very different than it would be in virtually any other kind of criminal trial,’ trial jury consultant tells Gustaf Kilander
Alex Woodward filed this report from the courthouse after the end of the second day of Donald Trump’s historic trial:
Seven Manhattan residents – including an Irish waiter, an oncology nurse and a man who finds Donald Trump “fascinating” – have now been selected to serve on a jury that could deliver the first criminal trial verdict against the former president.
Sitting with his attorneys in a criminal courtroom on Tuesday, Mr Trump craned his neck to get a good look at the group during the second day of jury selection in his landmark hush money case.
About 100 people were called into the jury pool on Monday. Roughly half of them were dismissed outright, stating that they could not be fair and impartial. A randomly selected group of potential jurors were asked to read through a 42-question survey before prosecutors and attorneys for the former president asked them questions individually.
By Tuesday afternoon, seven jurors had been sworn in to the trial – including the foreperson who will likely read out the former president’s verdict to the court, if one is reached.
Read on…
The former president heard firsthand from prospective jurors who could deliver a criminal verdict against him
It seems the crowds that come out to protest the persecution of the former president are getting smaller, and weirder, Richard Hall writes:
Donald Trump has not been accused of paying for sex, but several supporters protesting outside of his trial on Monday wanted to make it clear that they have. It seems the crowds that come out to protest the persecution of the former president are getting smaller, and weirder. Richard Hall writes
Arizona statehouse Republicans blocked an effort on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 abortion ban for the second time.
The block of the repeal comes despite several major Republicans in and out of the state, such as former President Donald Trump, having called for a more moderate solution.
Many voters, including some who back the Republicans, see the law as antiquated and an extreme effort to restrict the rights of women.
Gustaf Kilander reports:
Arizona statehouse Republicans blocked an effort on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 abortion ban for the second time.
Alex Woodward writes:
A nurse, a teacher, two lawyers, a salesman and a grandfather are among some of the first jurors tasked with hearing the first-ever criminal trial against a president.
A pivotal process is now underway in Manhattan to select the group of jurors in the so-called hush money case against Donald Trump, as he faces charges of falsifying business records to conceal payments to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Continue reading…
Three women and four men have so far been tasked with hearing the first-ever criminal case against a US president
Contentious Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake suggested Americans should “strap on a Glock” to prepare for the 2024 election.
Ms Lake, a failed 2020 Arizona gubernatorial candidate who has never formally conceded her loss to now-governor Katie Hobbs, told a rally at Lake Havasu City on Tuesday that the lead-up to the election is going to be “intense”.
“We’re going to strap on our seatbelt. We’re going to put on our helmet – or your Kari Lake ball cap,” she continued. “We are going to put on the armour of God. And maybe strap on a Glock on the side of us just in case.” The crowd cheered.
Kelly Rissman reports:
‘We’re not going to have our second amendment taken away,’ she told the crowd after gesturing where to place the weapon
John Bowden report from Washington, DC:
House speaker Mike Johnson is attempting a high-wire act this week – one that could blow up in his face, cost him the job he has clung to for six months, and throw the lower chamber into chaos.
The ultra-conservative Republican is supporting a vote on Ukraine aid despite many of his party’s conservative wing being strongly against it. A conservative rebellion is growing, with a challenge to his leadership from firebrand congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene who was joined on Tuesday by a second lawmaker.
Now, he’s come up with a complicated plan to pass foreign aid by breaking up the supplemental national security funding package already passed by the Senate.
Read on…
A conservative rebellion is growing. Should the speaker really be worried?
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Former president Donald Trump, talks to members of the media while visiting a bodega, on Tuesday 16 April 2024
AP
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