The twice-impeached former president of the United States, Donald Trump, begins the first of his four criminal trials on Monday. He faces 34 class E felony counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, and if convicted of one of those felonies, he could be looking at a maximum sentence of four years in state prison. More than 500 New Yorkers have received notices to appear on Monday to participate in the jury selection process.
Trump’s lawyers will want a jury composed of people who believe that he is immune from criminal prosecution and that this case never should have been brought in the first place. Favorable Trump jurors will believe that Merchan should have recused himself months ago because his daughter works at a company that provides support to Democratic politicians. They will think that anything the judge tells them is not to be believed, so they will ignore his instructions.