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CNN
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Former President Donald Trump appears in a New York court on Monday for jury selection in his hush-money criminal trial, beginning weeks of courtroom and campaign negotiations at a critical time for his general election bid. It turns out.
Republican presidential candidates are required to appear in court every weekday except Wednesday, according to a schedule established by the court. Trump’s team is working to circumvent the restrictions so he can continue to interact with voters and donors.
Since launching his third presidential bid at the end of 2022, the former president has rarely campaigned more than two days a week. However, Trump is only away from court on Wednesdays and weekends, greatly limiting his flexibility to travel at his own discretion for fundraising and campaign activities, and for him and his staff. They are lamenting this.
Previews of those balance changes will begin this weekend. Trump is expected to hold a campaign rally and donor event in Pennsylvania on Saturday before heading to New York City on Sunday to prepare court protocol and messages with members of his legal team, the president said. A person familiar with the plan told CNN.
Trump’s team believes news coverage of the trial will continue to focus attention on the former president, despite limited access to cameras inside the federal courthouse and no video coverage of the trial itself. As he did during his previous fraud trial, Trump will seek to ensure that he remains front and center.
The former president is expected to speak to cameras as he enters and exits court, and is likely to speak to cameras at his Trump Tower mansion after his appearance. Trump’s advisers have warned that, like most things with former presidents, such statements will be dictated by Trump’s whims that day. The location was chosen for its convenience, as Trump is expected to stay at Trump Tower during the trial.
A campaign official said, “Every time the president appears in court, attention is focused on the president and his message.”
Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers say his presence in court during the trial will continue to benefit Mr. Trump, despite his distance from the campaign.
“[The court appearances] It certainly helped stimulate much of the discussion. His court appearances help get the message across, help with fundraising, and get people to vote and volunteer,” one Trump adviser told CNN.
They also privately acknowledged that they are entering uncharted territory and that what worked in the Republican primary won’t necessarily work with pro-choice or critical independent voters. Some people are.
“There’s always concern about Trump’s fatigue,” the senior adviser said.
In addition to using his court appearance, Trump “will use both in-person and virtual events to get his message out on the day of the court,” a campaign official said.
The Trump campaign also argued that former President Trump could make the most of his time out of court, highlighted the former president’s influence on social media and raised the possibility that Trump might hold an event in the New York area. Suggests.
“Yes, we campaign on Wednesdays and weekends, but we’re not limited to that. We have the best candidates in history, great airplanes, the largest political social media reach in history, and we have the greatest political social media reach in and around New York City and beyond. There’s a lot that can be done,” another Trump campaign official told CNN.
But Trump will face jury selection next week on Monday and Tuesday, and is scheduled to return to court on Thursday, with nothing scheduled for Wednesday. His next scheduled campaign event after jury selection begins is April 20, when he plans to travel to North Carolina for campaigning and fundraising.
President Trump has previously hinted at the possibility of a campaign rally in New York, hinting in an interview with Fox News in February that such an event could be held in the South Bronx or Madison Square Garden. Trump has said several times that his campaign intends to “hit New York hard” despite it being a Democratic stronghold that he lost to Joe Biden by 23 points in 2020. It’s here. Democratic presidential candidates have carried the Empire State since 1988, but Trump’s recent influx of immigrants to the state could prompt more New Yorkers to vote for him in November. He claimed that there was.
Despite this public optimism, the political history of the state, especially New York City, has led President Trump to publicly and privately argue that he cannot get a fair jury in New York, a theory that will be put to the test in the upcoming election. Become. In the weeks leading up to his lawyers gathering hundreds of potential jurors to finally hear the former U.S. president’s first criminal trial.
In 2020, Manhattan voters overwhelmingly voted for Biden. And while Trump has complained for months about possible jury composition, it comes just a week before the trial’s start date and is widely seen as another last-ditch effort to delay the trial. It was getting worse. Mr. Trump’s lawyers filed a motion for a change of venue in court based on this argument. The New York Court of Appeals denied the petition.
However, given the high profile of the case and the political polarization surrounding the former president, both the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Mr. Trump’s legal team acknowledged the importance of the jury selection process, and that jurors should be asked questions. expressed concern that they may not be honest when answering questions. wide range of questions. Those questions include where they get their news from, whether they’ve attended the former president’s rallies, and whether they have any ties to groups like the Proud Boys or the QAnon movement, according to a jury survey released Monday. This includes whether there was any relationship.
One person close to President Trump said there were concerns that some prospective jurors may have ulterior motives for wanting to participate in the former president’s trial.
“Some may be looking for a book deal or the influence that comes with being involved,” the source said.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a CNN legal analyst and former Manhattan district attorney, said Trump’s lawyers are looking for jurors who are sympathetic to the former president, as well as people who appear to be “independent.” Stated. Thinkers are willing to stand alone and tie the jury.Conviction requires unanimous verdict
“If you were Mr. Trump, you’d want an acquittal, but if you couldn’t get an acquittal, you’d want him hanged, so you can get a conviction before the election,” Agnifilo said. Because there isn’t.” “You want someone who is strong enough to resist, and someone who is an independent thinker who doesn’t conform to a group.”
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