Former President Donald Trump speaks Feb. 15, 2024, before entering the courtroom at Manhattan criminal court in New York. Jury selection starts April 15 in former President Donald Trump’s trial in New York. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.Judge Juan M.
Bragg said Trump’s actions"violated New York election law, which makes it a crime to conspire to promote a candidacy by unlawful means." He also said the wire payment exceeded the federal campaign contribution cap and falsified financial statements violated New York law. "A juror could easily have a reasonable doubt about whether the true motive behind the payments is … to keep your wife from finding out and protect your public image," said Bill Otis, former head of the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and a former special counsel to former President George H.W. Bush.
During jury selection, attorneys on both sides will be able to ask potential jurors questions to see whether they have fixed notions about the case that would keep them from ruling impartially.
Outwardly, Trump seems unfazed by the logistical constraints, often speaking to press gaggles after court appearances and using the trials to portray himself as a victim of the justice system. Duncan Levin, who worked in the district attorney’s office before Bragg and is now a defense attorney, agreed with Gillers. Gag orders"with very limited exceptions have long been found not to violate the First Amendment," Levin said. Trump"is free to discuss the criminal justice system but not to make ad hominem attacks on particular people associated with the case," Levin said.
While working for the New York attorney general, Colangelo investigated the Trump Foundation and led lawsuits against the Trump administration.