2024-04-16 22:38:33
Donald Trump made history by becoming the first former US president to be tried on criminal charges. Facing 34 felony charges in a New York court, the Republican argued that he is the victim of a criminal justice system armed against him.
The first criminal trial against a former US president has begun as Trump seeks to return to the White House, creating a remarkable two-track spectacle of the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, who alternates his days as a defendant and campaigning for the presidency. He has combined those roles over the past year by presenting himself at rallies and on social media as the victim of politically motivated criminal prosecutions aimed at derailing his candidacy.
“Thats false. It’s a political witch hunt. It goes on and on forever,” Trump said as he left the courthouse, where he sat at the defendants’ table next to his lawyers.
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After a norm-breaking presidency that was overshadowed by years of investigations, the trial amounts to a historic reckoning for Trump, who now faces four indictments for crimes ranging from possessing confidential documents to conspiring to annul an election.
The fate of the 77-year-old Republican billionaire will be in the hands of the jury of 12 members and six alternates who began to be selected this Monday from among some 500 potential candidates. Its members will issue a unanimous verdict after a process that is estimated to last up to two months.
Of the first 96 candidates who entered the courtroom of the Manhattan Supreme Court, more than fifty said they would not be impartial and were excused before the end of the first day.
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