For the first time in U.S. history, a former president will sit in a courtroom for the first day of his criminal trial.
Former President Donald Trump faces 34-count felony counts alleging that he falsified New York business records in order to conceal damaging information to influence the 2016 presidential election. Monday kicks off an 18-person jury selection for the trial that is expected to last about six weeks — even as Trump campaigns to be president once again.
The trial begins after a 20-day delay was granted by New York Judge Juan Merchan to give both legal teams time to review 31,000 records provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In recent weeks, Merchan also issued a gag order on Trump that specifically bars him from making, or directing others to make, public statements about witnesses, prosecutors or jurors. He later extended the order to cover the families after Trump went after the judge’s daughter by name on the former president’s social media site.
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