By Jorge Dastis <\/p>\n\n\n\n
New York, US, Feb 15 (EFE). – In front of a room full of journalists and lawyers, former US President Donald Trump walked confidently to the dock, but a few minutes later he would suffer another judicial setback when Judge Juan Merchan denied his request to dismiss the case for alleged irregular payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Merchan, who sits on the criminal division of the New York State Supreme Court, confirmed Thursday that the trial against Trump – the first criminal case against a former president in the United States – will begin with jury selection on March 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a decision he had already been preparing for. As soon as he sat down, the judge announced that, after consulting with Tanya Chutkan, the judge presiding over another criminal case against the former president in Washington, D.C., he had decided to keep the March 25 date despite the defense’s protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement did not surprise anyone. Trump himself, before entering the courtroom, had told the assembled press that “the judge already knows what he is going to do” because he is “controlled by the Democrats.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“So why are you coming today?” the reporters asked him. “Because I want to show the press how corrupt (everything) is. Nobody else will do it,” he replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former president has never hidden the fact that his legal trials are a boost to his campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After his indictment in Georgia for allegedly trying to manipulate the outcome of the 2020 election, in which he lost to Joe Biden, Trump returned to Twitter (now X) to post his mug shot along with a link to support his candidacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the New York case, the former president had defended in his fundraising messages that he was compelled to appear, which is not true, according to The New York Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once in court, Trump took the opportunity to repeat his campaign rhetoric: that his candidacy is attracting support “like never before” and that all of his lawsuits are just part of a Democratic plot to prevent his return to the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the courtroom, however, the former president was calm, his eyes wandering around the room as Merchan and his attorney, Todd Blanche, discussed the best date to begin the trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judge finally settled the matter, criticizing Blanche for not presenting an argument for delaying the trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attorney tried to explain himself, somewhat nervously, and had to stop more than once to look at his notes before answering the judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prosecution, on the other hand, representing the State of New York, seemed more interested in moving forward as quickly as possible and barely interfered with the judge’s deliberations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One issue that was more controversial was the drafting of the questions that will be asked of the various members of the jury to assess their ability to decide the guilt or innocence of the former president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the questions proposed by the defense seemed to ask potential jurors to identify their political affiliations, something Merchan did not think was appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“People are going to have an opinion [about Trump] one way or another,” said prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, who asked Merchan to strike a question about whether the candidate had donated money to political campaigns in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, the defense team tried to convince Merchan that “more than half of the population believes that the (2020) election was stolen,” making it irrelevant to ask them whether they believe the polls were legitimate, as the prosecution claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to polls, about one-third of the US population doubts that Joe Biden will win the 2020 election, though the number is much higher (nearly 70%) among Republican voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Merchan listened to both sides and made it clear that he prefers them to resolve these issues privately, but that he himself will make a final decision on the list of questions soon.EFE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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