MANHATTAN (CN) — Donald Trump officially became the first U.S. president, current or former, to stand trial on criminal charges as his hush-money trial kicked off in New York City on Monday afternoon.
Jury selection in the highly anticipated trial started at 2:34 p.m. Trump made his way into the courtroom hours earlier amid some fanfare: more than 100 protestors, both pro- and anti-Trump, bearing signs and flags outside of the Manhattan criminal courthouse.
Trump didn't take questions before entering the courtroom on Monday morning, but briefly spoke to reporters, baselessly accusing President Joe Biden of being involved in his prosecution.
“This is an assault on our country and it’s a country that’s failing, it’s a country that’s run by an incompetent man and is very much involved in this case,” Trump said. “This is really an attack on a political opponent, that is all it is, so I’m very honored to be here. Thank you very much.”
The first several hours of the day in New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan's courtroom were devoted to tying up loose ends, like a recusal motion filed by Trump, which Merchan shot down on Monday.
Trump accused Merchan of having an “unacceptable interest” in the proceedings because of his previous comments in the media and because the judge's daughter works as a political digital marketer. Merchan, however, was unmoved.
“Defendant does not reasonably or logically explain how the statements… in any way demonstrate a bias or violates defendants rights,” Merchan said Monday, denying the recusal motion.
The judge also noted that case law allows his family to engage in political activity separate from him. Trump claimed that Merchan's daughter, Loren, had “a direct financial interest in these proceedings” since her marketing firm has worked with Democrats.
It was the second time Trump asked Merchan to recuse himself; the judge rejected a similar request last summer.
Also outstanding was whether or not the notorious Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump infamously boasted about grabbing women by their genitals, would be admitted into evidence.
“To play the tape itself is so prejudicial,” Merchan said, declining to admit the video itself in but allowing for its circumstances to be brought up at trial.
Prosecutors also wanted Trump to answer for several social media posts attacking likely trial witnesses, such as Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, in apparent violation of his gag order.
“We think it is important to remind Mr. Trump that he is a criminal defendant,” said prosecutor Christopher Conroy, chiding Trump for demonstrating a “willingness to flout the order.”
Conroy asked the court to impose a sanction of $1000 per inflammatory post. He identified three — all on Trump’s Truth Social platform — including one calling Cohen and Daniels “sleaze bags.”
Additionally, Conroy requested that the court require Trump to take down the posts and to remind him that he could face jail time for criminal contempt. Merchan didn’t immediately issue a ruling, but instead scheduled a hearing on the matter for April 23.
Trump sat drowsily at the defense table throughout Monday morning’s pre-trial proceedings, appearing to nod off at one point just before the lunch break.
He became more lively when jury selection started in the afternoon. Trump read along with the juror questionnaires and stood when introduced as the case’s defendant.
The first batch of prospective jurors contained 96 Manhattanites, more than 50 of whom were excused after raising their hands to indicate that they couldn’t be fair and impartial to Trump.
The remaining candidates sat in the jury box and answered aloud the court’s lengthy 42-question juror questionnaire, which includes questions for prospective jurors about which news publications they read and whether or not they’ve ever attended a Trump rally.
“Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about former President Donald Trump, or the fact that he is a current candidate for the president that would interfere with your ability to be a fair and impartial juror?” the form asks.
One woman, a retail worker living in Harlem, was dismissed after answering “yes” to that inquiry.
Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in a supposed scheme to pay adult film star Daniels hush money during his 2016 presidential run.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought the charges against Trump last year, claiming that the former president directed his ex-lawyer Cohen to make the payments. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Jury selection will resume on Tuesday and is expected to run into next week.
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