Jury selection is underway in former President Trump‘s criminal hush money trial.
Hundreds of people from Manhattan have been called up for jury duty in a process that could take several days, before the meat of the trial starts. The potential jurors are first being vetted for any potential biases or other reasons they will not be able to serve.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records to conceal an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump, who is the first former president to face federal criminal charges, has denied any wrongdoing.
Before jury selection could get underway, Judge Juan Merchan again declined to recuse himself from the trial, refusing Trump’s argument that Merchan’s daughter has worked for a firm that deals with prominent Democrats.
Trump is under a gag order in the case, but he’s continually violated it by posting to his Truth Social platform, frequently attacking various players.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is seeking a fine that could be levied against Trump over his inflammatory social media posts.
Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy asked that Trump be fined $1,000 for each post and be reminded he can be jailed if he violates the order.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued Trump hasn’t violated the order because he was merely “responding to salacious, repeated, vehement attacks by these witnesses.”
Keep up with The Hill‘s live updates from the trial here.
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