Former President Donald Trump expressed concerns about the fairness of the jury selection process for his upcoming criminal trial in New York, highlighting the role of luck in determining the jury composition.
Speaking at a press conference alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Trump criticized the trial’s location in Manhattan, suggesting that the jury pool might be biased due to the area’s Democratic leanings.
Trump is set to face trial on charges that he falsified his company’s records to conceal the true purpose of payments made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Donald Trump (Credits: ABC News)
These payments were allegedly made to suppress negative information during the 2016 presidential campaign, including a payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her from disclosing an alleged extramarital sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
Despite pleading not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and asserting that the payments were legitimate legal expenses, Trump and his legal team have repeatedly sought to delay the trial.
They argue that extensive media coverage of his other legal challenges has compromised the potential jury pool, thereby prejudicing his chance of a fair trial in Manhattan.
Donald Trump (Credits: Getty Images)
After multiple appeals for a delay were rejected by appellate judges, the matters are set to be reviewed by a panel for further consideration.
Despite these legal battles, Trump has indicated his intention to testify at the trial, dismissing the case as a “scam” and emphasizing his plan to “tell the truth” in hopes of proving the prosecution’s case baseless.
The trial, which begins with jury selection on Monday, marks the first of four criminal indictments against the former president to go to trial, situating it within a critical phase of his post-presidency and during a time when he is a presumptive nominee for the Republican presidential ticket.
