Donald Trump will become the first former US president to stand trial on Monday on criminal charges in what will be a watershed moment for American politics, the presidential election and Donald Trump himself, US media reported.
Trump is required to attend the entire trial, which could last up to eight weeks. He pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, which is a misdemeanour crime punishable by up to four years in prison. The trial begins Monday with jury selection.
The charges relate to Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016. Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office say he was involved in a scheme with his then lawyer Michael Cohen and the publisher of the National Enquirer to hush up scandalous stories about him in the run-up to Election Day.
One of those stories involved porn star Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump denied the allegation, and Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 to keep it quiet. After his election, Trump paid Cohen the money, which was recorded as legal expenses for his company – documents that prosecutors allege were falsified to keep the hush money payment secret.
The former president maintains he did nothing wrong and calls the case part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” against him that he is using to attract supporters and raise millions of dollars for his campaign.
The criminal case was the first of four brought against Trump in four different jurisdictions, and it is the only case to be finally scheduled for trial before the election.
Because Trump is required to appear in court four days a week, his ability to campaign in person is limited to times when the court is not in session. But as in previous trials in New York, Trump will likely make public appearances during breaks and after the trial is over.
The jury selection process is expected to take one to two weeks. Two sources with direct knowledge of the situation told NBC News that 6,000 jurors were summoned to Manhattan criminal courts this week – 2,000 more than in a normal week.
Eighteen jurors will be seated in the jury box at a time, and each juror will sequentially read aloud their answers to a series of 42 questions. Among them are questions about what news sources they use, whether they attended Trump rallies or anti-Trump protests, whether they supported the QAnon movement or antifa.
The questionnaire does not ask about party affiliation, political contributions or voting history, but the judge said the answers to those questions “can easily be gleaned from the answers to other questions.” After the 42 questions are answered, prosecutors will be able to ask the jury a series of follow-up questions, and then Trump’s lawyers can ask their own questions.
The trial will be held with an anonymous jury, meaning the jurors’ identities and addresses will not be made public. The judge said the move was necessary because of the “likelihood of bribery, jury tampering, physical injury or harassment”.
During the selection process, artists will be allowed into the courtroom, but they have been instructed not to sketch the faces of the jurors.
Members of the media will not be able to photograph or record the proceedings, and only a few reporters will be allowed into the courtroom to see potential jurors being questioned in the deliberation room.
Most reporters will cover jury selection from the crowded courtroom, where Trump and lawyers will be visible on closed-circuit monitors.
This is the fourth trial in New York involving Trump as a defendant since he left office. Writer E. Jean Carroll sued him twice for sexual assault and defamation, and he and his company were accused of fraud in a civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The verdicts against him in the three cases – all of which he is trying to appeal – total more than $550 million.
