Trump appears at trial as defendant… Allegation of “attack on the United States”

Former President Donald Trump appeared in court as a criminal defendant for the first time as a former U.S. president. This trial, which is being held on charges of paying hush money to silence a sexual scandal and manipulating related documents, is the only one of the four criminal trials facing former President Trump that can be concluded before the presidential election.

According to foreign media such as the New York Times, former President Trump arrived at the courtroom on the 15th floor of the Manhattan District Court in New York on the morning of the 15th (local time) and said, “This is an attack on the United States. “I am proud to be here,” he said, adding, “This is truly an attack on a political opponent.” The observation that former President Trump would use his trial process as an election stage to rally his supporters was correct.

Former President Trump was indicted on 34 counts, including paying hush money through his personal lawyer Michael Cohen and falsifying documents related to these payments to prevent revelations of his sexual relationship with adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Former President Trump must appear in court four days a week except Wednesday while the trial is ongoing. The trial is expected to run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and former President Trump plans to continue campaigning at night. This trial will last at least six weeks.

Prior to the full-scale hearing, jury selection was conducted on this day, but no one was selected for two hours. As Manhattan, where the trial is held, is one of the areas with the strongest support for the Democratic Party in the entire United States, former President Trump’s team is screening jurors who are friendly to former President Trump by asking various questions that can estimate political inclinations, including favorite news media. I’m risking my life and death.

Former President Trump’s lawyer filed a motion to recuse himself, saying that he could not expect a fair trial because the daughter of Judge Juan Mercan, the judge in charge, worked as a political consultant for the Democratic Party, but it was not accepted. The prosecutor in charge requested that former President Trump be fined $3,000, saying he posted critical posts toward key witnesses Daniels and Cohen in violation of Judge Merchan’s silence order.

Foreign media outlets that watched the trial reported that former President Trump dozed off in the courtroom. The Washington Post (WP) reported that right after lunch, as the judge began explaining the outline of the case to 96 prospective judges, former President Trump closed his eyes several times. The NYT also reported that former President Trump appeared to be dozing several times, with his mouth open and his head falling to his chest.

Reporter Hong Joo-hyung [email protected]

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