Donald Trump steps into court for third day of hush-money trial amid ongoing jury selection
Seven jurors have been picked for Donald Trump's hush-money trial, five more jurors and six alternates remain.
The former US President Donald Trump's hush-money case is now in the hands of the New York prosecutors as day three of the trial is in full swing.
Seven individuals have already been chosen from a pool of potential jurors, their backgrounds dissected to ensure an impartial panel for the trial of a former president—and a probable contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Among those already selected are individuals from diverse professional backgrounds—an IT worker, an English teacher, an oncology nurse, a sales professional, a software engineer, and two lawyers comprise the current jury panel.
The processing takes place in downtown Manhattan, as the glare of international media turns to Trump’s political scandal without any precedents.
He is arguably the first ever former US president to be battling with criminal charges for which he is currently facing trial, which is based on lies about payments used to conceal negative revelations during his 2016 election campaign.
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Central to the charges are payments made to former pornstar Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom claim to have had affairs with Trump.
Trump is swimming into pool of legal woes
The 45th US president has vehemently denied these allegations, pleading not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. His defence maintains that the payments were part of a legitimate effort to shield his reputation from unfounded claims during his successful bid for the presidency in 2016.
On top of the hush-money case, Trump also faces other allegations. To be exact, they include the allegations of the Jan 6 Capital riot case, attempts to take over the 2020 election in Georgia, and charges surrounding the divorce of classified documents at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, after he was the tenant.
Delays have plagued these cases as Trump's legal team employs tactics to postpone courtroom proceedings until after the upcoming November election.
Despite the mounting legal woes, Trump remains the ‘Godfather’ in the Republican nomination race for 2024. Having effectively sidelined any serious contenders, he proved himself as the formidable opponent to incumbent President Joe Biden.
