The historic trial of US President Donald Trump resumed yesterday, Thursday, in New York, amid the possibility of forming a jury by the end of the week, which will open the way for discussions on the merits, while Judge Juan Merchan expressed his hope that the jury selection process will be completed by the evening. Today is Friday, which will allow the opening arguments for the prosecution and defense to begin on Monday, as the Kennedy family moves to publicly support President Joe Biden’s election campaign, amid Democrats’ fears that independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. will snatch some votes from Biden and contribute to Donald Trump’s victory.
Since Monday, an American president has been brought before a criminal trial for the first time. Donald Trump is on trial in the case of paying money to buy Stormy Daniels’ silence, a few days before the 2016 elections, in which he narrowly won against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Seven of the required 12 jurors (in addition to six alternates) were sworn in on Tuesday evening, before a one-day break on Wednesday.
For his part, George Conway, a conservative lawyer who is staunchly anti-Trump, said on MSNBC that “this action will accelerate.” Because each side used six of the ten challenges authorized for the jury.
He added: “There is no reason why it cannot be completed by Friday.”
On Wednesday, Trump confirmed on his network, Truth Social, that he had just discovered that the number of appeals presented to the jury was limited, again describing the matter as a “brutal campaign” orchestrated by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden.
The potential jurors are anonymous citizens chosen to become part of a historic case overnight, only to find their lives under scrutiny.
They will have to answer a long questionnaire about their profession, family situation, sources of information, centers of interest, and their opinion of Trump, as well as more detailed questions that the prosecution or defense will put together after detecting any possible sign of any bias against the accused, especially in their posts on social media networks. More than three years after he left the White House in a state of chaos, Donald Trump theoretically faces a prison sentence, but that has not prevented him from continuing his candidacy in the presidential elections that will take place on November 5.
But if he is proven innocent, it will be a major success for the Republican candidate. Through appeals, Trump was able to postpone his three other criminal trials.
In the trial that began Monday, Trump faces charges of falsifying accounting documents for his company, the Trump Organization. It is alleged that $130,000 was paid to Stormy Daniels by his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, under the guise of “legal fees.”
On the other hand, the Kennedy family publicly announced their support for Biden’s election campaign. This is according to The Hill website, citing excerpts from a speech to be delivered by Kerry, daughter of Robert Kennedy Jr.
The website article stated: “At an event to be held in Philadelphia, the Kennedy family is scheduled to support President Biden in his re-election campaign, which is a major blow to the attempt of independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. to reach the White House… Democrats are expressing their fears that his candidacy will lead to the withdrawal of Votes from Biden next November and contributing to Trump’s election.”
It is noteworthy that the Kennedy family had previously expressed its denunciation of the election campaign of Robert Kennedy Jr., and distanced itself from this campaign.
According to what was reported in the article, Biden and the Kennedy family will also participate in a volunteer organizing event to support the current US president. (agencies)