Just three days prior to the commencement of Donald Trump’s trial regarding the hush money scandal, the judge presiding over the case dismissed the former president’s plea to postpone the trial due to extensive pretrial media coverage.
According to Judge Juan Merchan, the current situation that the Defendant is facing is not unfamiliar to him and is, to some extent, a result of his own actions.
“The judge wrote that the remedy the defendant is seeking, an indefinite adjournment, is not tenable.”
Merchan emphasized that any worries regarding a prospective juror’s knowledge of the case can be addressed through a thorough and rigorous jury selection procedure.
According to Merchan, the defendant seems to believe that his circumstances and this particular case are exceptional, and that the pre-trial publicity will never diminish. However, Merchan argues that this perspective does not reflect the truth.
Trump’s legal team submitted a request on Friday seeking a slight adjustment to the jury selection process. They are seeking more flexibility in addressing political bias during the questioning of potential jurors. Additionally, they would like to determine the number of prospective jurors who may have difficulty remaining fair and impartial towards Trump.
The defense attorneys emphasized the importance of these figures in evaluating the sufficiency of the jury selection process, both in terms of constitutional and statutory requirements.
Trump’s legal team has been attempting to transfer the case from Manhattan to a different county, citing their belief that it would result in a smaller pool of potential jurors who hold a bias against Trump.
In April of last year, Trump maintained his innocence in a 34-count indictment. The charges accused him of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made by his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Jury selection for the trial is set to begin on Monday in New York City. The former president has consistently maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.
