2024-04-19 12:52:05
The first criminal trial related to former US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s alleged ‘silencing of sexual misconduct’ was held in Manhattan, New York, and the selection of 12 jurors was completed on the 18th (local time), the third day of the trial. One of the six prospective jurors will also be selected on this day, and the witness examination process is expected to begin next week.
According to Reuters and AFP, Judge Juan Mercan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan, New York, announced that a total of 12 jurors and one prospective juror had been selected as of this day, and that he would resume the trial on the morning of the 19th and select five additional prospective jurors.
This trial requires 12 jurors and 6 alternate jurors. Alternate jurors are responsible for filling in vacancies when jurors fail to attend the trial. In American criminal trials, jurors reach a verdict on the guilt or innocence of the defendant and thus exert significant influence on the final decision of the court that determines sentencing.
Since Manhattan, New York, is a region with a strong tendency to support the Democratic Party and former President Trump has argued for an ‘unfair trial,’ the burden on local residents summoned as potential jurors is said to be considerable. On the 15th, when the trial began, 50 of the 96 potential jurors voluntarily withdrew. On the 16th, the second day of the trial, seven jurors were selected after many twists and turns, but on this day, one person withdrew and another was excluded.
On this day, one juror said that after his personal information was made public through the media, he received a lot of contact from his acquaintances and that he was resigning because he was unable to make a fair verdict due to outside influence. In response, Judge Merchan ordered reporters in the courtroom not to report the jurors’ personal information. Another juror was dropped from the list because his criminal history was later confirmed. Judge Merchan later added these two people and selected five additional jurors, finalizing the list of 12 jurors in total.
The court, defense team, and prosecutors screened potential jurors for eligibility by asking them some of 42 questions agreed upon in advance. The questionnaire obtained by the New York Times (NYT) included questions about the jurors’ daily thoughts about former President Trump, whether their family and acquaintances participate in political activities, and what kind of news they consume in order to confirm the political neutrality of the jurors.
Former President Trump continued his stance today that his indictment and trial were unfair. According to The Hill, an American political media outlet, former President Trump met with reporters after the trial ended that day and said, “I had to be in New Hampshire, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina,” and “I had to campaign in about 100 places, but I had to sit in a cold room all day.” “I am receiving an unfair trial,” he claimed. At the same time, he criticized the media headlines about his trial and said, “The whole world is watching this hoax.”
On this day, New York prosecutors requested that the court impose a fine on former President Trump, saying he violated the order prohibiting slandering those involved in the trial on a total of seven occasions. In response, Judge Merchan announced that he would hear related charges at the trial that will resume next week. On the 15th, the first day of the trial, the prosecution requested that former President Trump be fined $1,000 (approximately 1.3 million won) for each case, claiming that he posted three posts defaming the key witnesses, adult actress Stormy Daniels and lawyer Michael Cohen.
Former President Trump is accused of giving $130,000 (approximately KRW 170 million) to the Trump Organization in order to prevent Daniels’ revelation that he had a sexual relationship with her just before the 2016 presidential election, and falsifying the accounting books as legal consulting fees on 34 occasions. was indicted by New York prosecutors in April last year.
Former President Trump completely denies the allegations, saying he has never met Daniels. Former President Trump is currently indicted on a total of four criminal cases, including △ leaking confidential White House documents △ interfering in the Georgia presidential election △ attempting to overturn the presidential election confirmation, in addition to the sexual harassment scandal case. Among them, the start date of the trial for the only sexual scandal silence case was confirmed on the 25th of last month.
American media reports that among the criminal cases in which former President Trump was indicted, only the sexual harassment case is highly likely to be decided in the first trial before the presidential election in November. Former President Trump must continue to appear in the trial, which will last at least a month from jury selection to witness testimony, just seven months before the presidential election. This is the first time in U.S. history that a former president appears as a defendant in a criminal trial. However, even if he is found guilty, it is theoretically possible for him to take office as president, Reuters reported.
(Seoul = News 1)
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2024-04-19 12:52:05