美国前总统唐纳德·特朗普周一在曼哈顿刑事法庭出庭。标志着第一天有史以来第一次针对美国前总统的刑事审判。
去年4月，特朗普对34项指控不服罪，指控他伪造商业记录，涉嫌他当时的律师迈克尔·科恩向成人电影女演员斯托米·丹尼尔斯支付封口费款项，以提高他在2016年总统大选中的竞选前景。
这场历史性的审判预计将持续六至八周。周一，陪审团开始挑选，预计需要两周时间。
在法庭外，这位前总统一整天都在他的社交媒体平台Truth Social上挑衅，抨击起诉是出于政治动机。然而，在法庭上，他表现得与众不同——斜靠在座位上，双臂交叉，有时似乎闭上了眼睛。
周一上午，数百名潜在陪审员出现在法庭上，但由于数小时的审前程序问题和时间安排问题，预备庭审直到下午晚些时候才开始。
Juan M. Merchan法官首先拒绝了特朗普法律团队提出的要求法官回避此案的动议-这是他们一再寻求的。Merchan称特朗普对他有偏见的暗示是没有证据的，并表示他们不会再次谈论这个话题。
陪审团问卷也是一个争论点，Merchan拒绝了特朗普律师托德·布兰奇(Todd Blanche)的说法，即该问卷包含“不对称性”，这将使坚定反特朗普的陪审员得以入选。
关于审判期间可以出示什么证据，也有一些问题需要解决。布兰奇反对将特朗普与《国家询问者》的互动以及他与前《花花公子》模特凯伦·麦克道戈的所谓婚外情的证据包括在内——称这些事情是“次要的”，“实际上只是毫无价值的淫秽”——但梅尔曼支持检察官，称这些细节对该案“奠定适当的基础”至关重要。川普否认与麦克道戈尔或斯托米·丹尼尔斯有暧昧关系。
“我的裁决是，我们不播放磁带，现在仍然是，磁带本身是如此具有偏见——看到特朗普先生被描绘，从他嘴里说出来的话，面部表情……磁带本身不应该出现，”Merchan谈到这一决定。
然而，检察官将被允许大声朗读视频中特朗普的话。
周一，检察官要求法官Merchan判特朗普藐视法庭，并因涉嫌在此案中三次违反有限禁言令而罚款3000美元。
检察官认为前总统的三个职位相关的可能证人迈克尔·科恩和丹尼尔斯，以及一名成员的起诉团队-违反了有限的禁声令。禁言令禁止特朗普公开评论除布拉格以外的潜在证人、潜在陪审员、案件律师以及马科姆和布拉格的家人。
Merchan将于4月23日就此事举行听证会。
美国东部时间下午2点30分刚过，96名准陪审员在陪同下进入法庭，开始遴选过程。他们中的一些人伸长脖子想看一眼这位前总统，至少有一人咯咯地笑着，扬起了眉毛。当Merchan介绍这个案子时，这位前总统转过身来面对着旁听席，露出一丝紧闭的微笑。
超过一半的潜在陪审团成员在确定他们不能公平或公正地决定案件后被原谅。剩下的人被进一步询问，提供有关他们的工作、爱好、首选新闻渠道以及他们是否持有任何可能不公平地影响他们的特朗普观点的信息。两名证人无缘无故被打，其中一名男子说审判会干扰他孩子的婚礼。
另一个潜在的陪审员，一个住在上西区的书店员工，在回答问卷时谈到了他对刑事司法系统的感受。
“我相信没有人可以凌驾于法律之上，无论是前任总统、现任总统还是看门人，”他说。
那个特定的陪审员被免除了。周一的审判中没有陪审员就座。
下午4:30过后，法庭休庭，预计周二上午9:30继续挑选陪审团成员
Trump trial takeaways: Historic Day 1 wraps
Former President Donald Trump appeared in Manhattan criminal court Monday,marking the first dayof the first-ever criminal trial against a former U.S. president.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with alleged hush money payments his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
The historic trial -- which is expected to last six to eight weeks -- kicked off Monday with jury selection, which is supposed to take up to two weeks.
Outside the courtroom -- and throughout the day on his social media platform Truth Social -- the former president was defiant, lambasting the prosecution as politically motivated. Inside the courtroom, however, he cut a different figure -- reclining in his seat, arms folded, at times appearing to shut his eyes.
Hundreds of prospective jurors showed up to the courthouse Monday morning, but voir dire did not begin until late afternoon, delayed by hours of pretrial procedural matters and questions about scheduling.
Judge Juan M. Merchan began by denying a motion filed by Trump’s legal team calling for the judge to recuse himself from the case -- something they've sought repeatedly. Merchan called Trump’s insinuations that he is biased against him unsubstantiated and said they would not address the topic again.
The jury questionnaire was also a point of contention, with Merchan rejecting a claim by Trump lawyer Todd Blanche that it contained "asymmetry" that would allow staunchly anti-Trump jurors to be selected.
There were also issues to hash out regarding what evidence could be presented during the trial. Blanche argued against the inclusion of evidence concerning Trump’s interactions with the National Enquirer and his alleged affair with former Playboy model Karen McDougal -- calling the matters a “sideshow” and "literally just salacious with no value” -- but Merchan sided with prosecutors, saying the details were crucial to “lay the proper foundation” for the case. Trump has denied having an affair with either McDougal or Stormy Daniels.
"My ruling that we were not to play the tape was, and remains, that the tape itself is so prejudicial -- to see Mr. Trump depicted, the words coming out of his mouth, the facial expressions … the tape itself should not come in,” Merchan said of the decision.
Prosecutors will, however, be permitted to read Trump’s words from the video aloud.
On Monday, prosecutors asked Judge Merchan to hold Trump in contempt and fined $3,000 for three alleged violations of the limited gag order in the case.
Prosecutors argued thatthree posts by the former president-- related to likely witnesses Michael Cohen and Daniels, as well as a member of the prosecution team -- violated the terms of the limited gag order. The gag order prohibits Trump from making public comments about potential witnesses, prospective jurors, lawyers on the case other than Bragg, and the families of both Merchan and Bragg.
Merchan set a hearing on the matter for April 23.
Just after 2:30 p.m. ET, 96 prospective jurors -- some of whom craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the former president, and at least one who giggled and raised her eyebrows -- were escorted into the courtroom to begin the selection process. As Merchan introduced the case, the former president turned to face the gallery, offering a tight-lipped smile.
More than half of the potential jury members were excused after they identified that they could not be fair or impartial in deciding the case. The remaining pool was questioned further, providing information about their jobs, hobbies, preferred news outlets and whether they hold any opinions of Trump that could unfairly sway them. Two witnesses were struck for cause, including a man who said the trial would interfere with his child's wedding.
Another potential juror, a bookstore employee who lives on the Upper West Side, spoke about his feelings on the criminal justice system while answering the questionnaire.
"I believe that nobody is above the law, whether it be a former president or a sitting president or a janitor," he said.
That particular juror was excused. No jurors were seated Monday for the trial.
The court adjourned for the day just after 4:30 p.m. and is expected to pick back up with jury selection on Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.
