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☆ Donald Trump has shared tales of courtroom spectacles. The reality is much more subdued
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Steve Contorno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An email Monday night from Donald Trump – subject line: “My farewell message” – carried a fateful warning to his backers. Throughout the first six days of his trial, Trump’s dramatized retellings of his legal peril have veered considerably from the events actually unfolding in and around Manhattan’s criminal courthouse. In one fundraising email on the first day of his trial, Trump claimed he “stormed out” of the proceedings. With the courtroom quiet Tuesday, Trump flipped through a pile of papers loud enough to hear the pages turning. “I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom,” Merchan said.

Persons: Donald Trump, –, Trump, Rather, untethered, “, he’s, unremarkably Trump, Judge Juan Merchan, Stormy Daniels, E, Jean Carroll, Merchan, ” Merchan, hasn’t, “ You’re, ”, Todd Blanche, Christopher Conroy, Blanche, ‘, CNN’s Kate Sullivan, Kristen Holmes, Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle, Kara Scannell Organizations: CNN, Trump, Columbia University, Truth, Protesters Locations: Manhattan, Fiji, Lower Manhattan

Here are takeaways from Tuesday’s day in court:Gag order hearing goes badly for TrumpMerchan issued the gag order before the trial began, limiting Trump from publicly discussing witnesses, the jury or the district attorney’s staff. Merchan expanded the order, which Trump has appealed, to cover his own family after Trump attacked his daughter. “It’s your client’s position that when he reposts he did not believe he was violating the gag order. Judge says Trump lawyers are ‘losing all credibility’Tensions continued to grow between Trump’s legal team and the trial judge during the gag order hearing. Pecker places Michael Cohen deep in the conspiracyPecker placed Cohen in the heart of the alleged “catch and kill conspiracy” Tuesday.

Persons: Juan Merchan, Donald Trump, David Pecker, Karen McDougal, Trump’s, Michael Cohen, Trump, ”, Stormy Daniels, Merchan, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Cohen, Michael Avenatti, Daniels, ” Merchan, “, ” Blanche, reposts, “ You’ve, “ I’ve, You’ve, “ You’re, Josh Steinglass, Pecker, McDougal, Michael, ” Pecker, Stelter, wasn’t, “ Michael Cohen, Ted Cruz, ’ ” Pecker, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio Organizations: New, New York CNN, American Media Inc, Trump, Trump Merchan, Truth, AMI, CNN Locations: New York

New York CNN —Jury selection in Donald Trump’s hush money business fraud case began Thursday looking like the task of finding 12 jurors had run aground. Juror 11 was seated on the jury after Merchan denied Trump’s challenge to the juror for cause. Trump’s lawyers argued she should be dismissed because she said she does not like Trump’s “persona.”“I don’t like his persona,” she said. The district attorney’s office refused. Trump’s attorneys and the district attorney’s office also will get additional peremptory challenges for the alternate jurors.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Juan Merchan’s, It’s, won’t, topsy turvy, Trump, Merchan, ”, “, “ It’s, Trump’s, it’s, Susan Necheles, she’d, Michael Cohen, he’s, Todd Blanche, Josh Steinglass, “ We’re, ” Merchan, Blanche, “ They’re, what’s, Sandoval, they’ll, Jean Carroll, that’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Trump, CNN, Twitter Locations: New York, Manhattan, New Yorker

☆ Why is the Trump trial jury anonymous? What to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

RELATED: Full 12-person jury set for Trump trial after Thursday proceedings. Even the lawyers in that case weren’t permitted to know the identities of the jurors, a step further than the precautions in place for the Trump trial in New York. In this hyperconnected social media age, anonymity is hard to achieve. Meanwhile, a special hearing on whether Trump has violated a gag order for his continued social media attacks is set for next week. When anonymous juries go wrongMaybe Trump remembers one of the most infamous, anonymous jury incidents, featuring another famous New Yorker, the mob boss John Gotti.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Leroy “ Nicky ” Barnes, Barnes, Jimmy Carter, Juan Merchan’s, Merchan, Jean Carroll, Barnes –, CNN’s Jeremy Herb, “, ” Merchan, ”, Jesse Watters, John Gotti, Gotti, Salvatore “ Sammy, Bull ” Gravano, George Pape, Pape, acquit Gotti, Alan Tuerkheimer, CNN’s Omar Jimenez, Max Organizations: CNN, Trump, The New York Times, Justice Department, Fox News, Liberal, Yorker, New York Times, Prosecutors Locations: New York, Puerto Rican

☆ Trump hush money trial judge scolds press after juror is dismissed over fears she had been identified
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, told news outlets to watch how they report on the jurors and forbade the press from reporting where jurors are employed. The ruling came after one juror was dismissed from the trial after expressing concerns that portions of her identity had been made public by the news media. The juror told the judge she had concerns that she could not be impartial after those close to her asked if she was a juror on the case. Christine Cornell“We just lost what probably would’ve been a very good juror,” Merchan added. Former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin told CNN that Merchan could hold news outlets in contempt if they publish identifying information about a juror.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Juan Merchan, “ I’m, it’s, Donald Trump, — Emil Bove, Todd Blanche, Judge Juan Merchan, Christine Cornell “, ” Merchan, “, Merchan, “ It’s, Jeffrey Toobin, ” Toobin, ”, Toobin Organizations: CNN, New, Fox News, NBC, ABC, Politico, New York Post Locations: Manhattan

CNN —If Donald Trump opts to testify at his New York criminal trial, Manhattan prosecutors want to use his past legal run-ins to discredit him to the jury. Prosecutors say they’ll want to question him about what they claim is false testimony he gave on the stand at that trial last November. The judge plans to hold a proceeding called a Sandoval hearing to rule on what’s fair fodder for prosecutors if Trump takes the stand in his defense later at trial. A Sandoval hearing is a common preliminary proceeding that reviews a defendant’s criminal history and looks at how much prosecutors can ask if a defendant testifies. “If for some reason we are fortunate and get done early on Friday, we will take up Sandoval at that time,” Merchan said.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, They’ll, Jean Carroll, Hillary Clinton, Donald J, Judge Juan Merchan, Sandoval, Merchan, ” Merchan Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, Office, New, Prosecutors, Trump Foundation, Trump Locations: York, Manhattan, New York

☆ Takeaways from the second day of jury selection in Trump’s hush money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Jeremy Herb | Lauren Del Valle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

That process prompted Judge Juan Merchan to sternly admonish Trump for his conduct toward the first juror questioned about her social media. That gave Trump’s team the chance to mine their public social media postings to be ready for their challenges to the judge. As for the three jurors Merchan did not strike: Trump’s side used its preemptory challenges to remove all of them anyway. The juror was later struck for cause by the judge on a challenge from Trump’s team over his social media posts. But the judge is hoping to wrap up jury selection this week.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Juan Merchan, admonish Trump, foreperson, Trump, Trump’s, Todd Blanche, Merchan, –, Joe Biden, “, ” Merchan, Blanche, Joshua Steinglass, Michael Cohen, Steinglass, it’s, meanwhile, that’s Organizations: CNN, Trump, Facebook, Prosecutors, Democrat Locations: New York, Ireland

☆ Who is Juan Merchan? What to know about the judge in Trump’s hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan is a seasoned jurist who is no stranger to Trump’s orbit. In the lead-up to the start of the trial, Trump fanned the flames on social media with his views on the judge. “Judge Merchan was always well-prepared, accessible, and – most importantly in the Weisselberg matter – a man of his word. Trump also claimed Judge Merchan has ruled against him in pretrial motions “because his daughter makes money by working to ‘Get Trump.’”Loren Merchan has not commented publicly on the case. David Paterson appointed him to the New York State Court of Claims in 2009, the same year he began serving as an acting New York Supreme Court judge.

Persons: Donald, Juan Merchan, Allen Weisselberg, Steve, Trump, Merchan, “ Judge Merchan, ” Nicholas Gravante, Weisselberg, ” Gravante, Judge Merchan, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Donald Trump, bode, ” Agnifilo, ” Merchan, ’ Trump, Loren Merchan, Joe Biden, didn’t, ‘ Get, ’ ” Loren Merchan, “, ” Trump, ”, Anna Gristina, Timothy Parlatore, “ I’ve, ” Parlatore, Brendan Tracy, ” Tracy, Earl Ward, it’s, ” Ward, Michael Bloomberg, David Paterson Organizations: CNN, The, New, Trump Organization, Trump, Republican, Attorney’s Office, Democratic, Super Liberal Democrat, ‘, ‘ Get Trump, Authentic, Bloomberg News, Manhattan Mental Health, Attorney’s, Bronx Defenders, Mental Health, New York, Court, Democratic Gov, New York Times, Baruch College, Times, Hofstra University Locations: York, Manhattan, “, Senegalese, Long Island, New, Bronx, Bogotá, Colombia, United States, New York City, Jackson Heights , Queens, New York

CNN —The first criminal trial of former President Donald Trump is here. Trump has complained that he cannot get a fair jury in Manhattan, where the jurors must live. He was fined twice for violating a gag order imposed by New York Judge Arthur Engoron in his civil fraud trial. This payment is not part of the charges against Trump, but prosecutors have said that the testimony would help establish a pattern of payments. Merchan also denied prosecutors’ request to show E. Jean Carroll’s deposition from her defamation case against Trump because it would be “building in a trial into a trial.”

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Judge Juan Merchan, Merchan, ” Merchan, “, Michael Cohen, they’d, CNN’s Paula Reid, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Chris Conroy, ” Conroy, Daniels, Michael Avenatti, Cohen, ”, Arthur Engoron, Karen McDougal, McDougal, Prosecutors, Jean Carroll’s Organizations: CNN, Republican, Manhattan, Attorney’s, Judge, New York, Trump . Defense, Monday Trump, Trump, Prosecutors, Social, New, National, American Media Inc Locations: Manhattan, New, New York

☆ Opinion: Why Trump hush money gag rule Hail Mary won’t work
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Opinion Michael Conway | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

He is a graduate of Yale Law School, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a retired Illinois attorney. In rejecting Trump’s contention that the gag orders violate his First Amendment rights, Merchan pointed to Trump’s social media posts. Merchan was aware of the Sheppard opinion justifying his initial gag order, citing it in the ruling. A leading lawyers’ organization, the American College of Trial Lawyers, wrote that Trump’s statements about judges and prosecutors “puts our very democracy at risk. It should be universally condemned.”That’s why Merchan’s gag order is indispensable.

Persons: Michael Conway, Richard Nixon, Donald Trump’s, Juan Merchan, Stormy Daniels, Trump, Merchan, ” Merchan, Trump’s, Sam Sheppard, Sheppard, Alvin Bragg, don’t, “, ” Organizations: Yale Law School, American College of Trial, CNN, Trump, US, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Illinois, York, New York, Manhattan

☆ Breaking down Trump’s attacks on the daughter of the judge in his New York hush-money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The judge ruled that Trump’s “dangerous rhetoric” threatens the integrity of the looming trial, which is scheduled to begin April 15. Here are the facts about Trump’s recent attacks against Merchan’s daughter, and how this sideshow could affect the first-ever criminal trial of a former American president. He deployed this same tactic in the New York case, but went even farther by targeting Merchan’s adult daughter, Loren Merchan. He used the image to argue that Loren Merchan and her father are biased against him. “The X, formerly Twitter, account being attributed to Judge Merchan’s daughter no longer belongs to her since she deleted it approximately a year ago,” court spokesman Al Baker said last week.

Persons: Donald Trump, Judge Juan Merchan, Trump, Merchan’s, don’t, Stormy Daniels, Loren Merchan, Merchan, ”, Joe Biden, didn’t, ‘ Get, ’, Loren Merchan’s, Kamala Harris ’, Biden, Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, Katie Hobbs, Adam Schiff, Trump’s, Schiff, Laura Loomer, Judge Merchan’s, Al Baker, Loren, “, Judge Merchan, Attorney Alvin Bragg, ” Merchan, Joey Jackson, CNN’s Dana Bash, ” Jackson, that’s, ” CNN’s Daniel Dale, Jeremy Herb, David Wright Organizations: Washington CNN, Democratic, Trump, Super Liberal Democrat, ‘, ‘ Get Trump, New York, CNN, Authentic, Michigan Gov, Arizona Gov, Democratic Party of Wisconsin, House Democrats, California, Senate, The Spectator, Twitter, Manhattan, Attorney Locations: New York, American, “, Arizona, York

☆ ‘He really pushes the boundaries’: How Trump has challenged judges trying to rein him in
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Jeremy Herb | Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

New York CNN —It took Donald Trump less than 24 hours to test the boundaries of Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order in his New York criminal trial. Inside the courtroom, Trump has been admonished and threatened with removal for being disruptive. Outside the courtroom, Trump has repeatedly railed against the charges he faces in front of cameras and attacked all of those involved on social media. Engoron issued a gag order on commentary about court staff that covered his clerk, fining Trump twice for breaking it. In the federal classified documents case, Trump has appeared several times before Judge Aileen Cannon, whom he appointed.

Persons: Donald Trump, Juan Merchan’s, Merchan, Trump, –, ”, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, He’s, “, they’re, Reggie Walton, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Judge Arthur Engoron, Letitia James, Engoron, fining Trump, slogged, he’d, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Jean Carroll, Kaplan, Elie Honig, ” Trump, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Allen Weisselberg, Agnifilo, ” Agnifilo, ” ‘, Tanya Chutkan, ” Chutkan, he’s, Trump’s “, ” Merchan, Honig, CNN Trump, Aileen Cannon, Scott McAfee, Carroll, ” Kaplan, defaming Carroll, CNN’s Lauren Del Valle, Katelyn Polantz, Zachary Cohen Organizations: New, New York CNN, Trump –, CNN, Trump, Trump Organization, Georgia Locations: New York, Manhattan, Fulton County

CNN —A New York judge has imposed a gag order on Donald Trump, limiting the former president from making statements about potential witnesses in the criminal trial relating to hush money payments scheduled to begin next month. The order does not prevent Trump from talking about New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a public figure, or Merchan himself. Trump criticized Merchan, his daughter and one of Bragg’s prosecutors in the hours before Merchan issued his order. The district attorney’s office had requested the gag order last month to remain in place for the duration of the trial. In the civil fraud case last fall, Trump was twice fined for violating Judge Arthur Engoron’s gag order and making comments about the judge’s staff.

Persons: Donald Trump, Juan Merchan, Trump, Merchan, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Alvin Bragg, …, ” Merchan, reimbursements, Cohen, Daniels, denigrating, Arthur Engoron’s, ’ ” Merchan, “, Matthew Colangelo, Colangelo, General Merrick Garland’s, ” Trump’s, Bragg, Biden, ’, ” Trump Organizations: CNN, Trump, New York, Republican, New, Monday’s, Justice Department, Defendant, DOJ, Office, Democratic, Truth, Attorney Locations: York, New York, Washington , DC

Before noon, Merchan had already dismissed the allegations from Trump’s attorneys, ruling there were no violations and that the trial will begin with jury selection on April 15. Trump faced a Monday deadline to post bond or else New York Attorney General Letitia James could have begun the process of seizing his property. ‘It will be my honor to post,’ Trump saysTrump didn’t speak inside the courtroom Wednesday, but he still had plenty of chances to make his views of Monday’s developments known. In the other three, he may yet be successful, though the New York trial is now set to begin in three weeks. Immediately after Merchan’s decision to start the hush money trial next month, Trump’s attorneys sought another way to push back the start of the trial.

Persons: Donald Trump, Juan Merchan, Trump, Michael Cohen, Trump’s, Merchan, Attorney Alvin Bragg, reimbursements, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Letitia James, Jean Carroll, staving, James, ’ Trump, ” Trump, ”, …, “, ” Merchan, Bragg’s, Todd Blanche —, Blanche, Daniels Organizations: CNN, Trump, Manhattan, Attorney’s Office, US, Office, Southern, of, Attorney, New, FBI Locations: New York, York, of New York

☆ Trump is just 3 weeks from becoming the first ex-president to go on trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Yet the moment that history is likely to remember most clearly unfolded in a Manhattan courtroom where Trump sat seething as a judge thwarted his latest delaying tactics and set a date for his hush money trial. Of course, it’s also possible that Trump could be acquitted in this criminal case. It is a mark of the depth of Trump’s legal hole that a reduced requirement to post a bond worth $175 million counts as a big win. Already clashing with another judgeTurning to Judge Juan Merchan, who took the gloss off of the ex-president’s day by scheduling the trial date, Trump issued another bitter complaint. Trump’s looming criminal trial presents a challenge and an opportunity for the Biden campaign.

Persons: Donald Trump staved, Trump, it’s, Stormy Daniels, isn’t, ” Trump, ”, he’d, he’ll, Arthur Engoron, Letitia James, “, Juan Merchan, Attorney Alvin Bragg, ” Ryan Goodman, CNN’s Erica Hill, Jack, Fani Willis, Willis, Aileen Cannon, Biden, Nikki Haley, she’s, Joe Biden, Trump’s, “ Donald Trump, James Singer, Donald Trump, –, Merchan, ” Merchan Organizations: CNN, Trump, New York, ”, Manhattan, Attorney, Department of Defense, Fulton, GOP, South Carolina Gov, Biden, Arab American, Israel, Engoron, Monday Locations: Manhattan, New York, Fulton County, Georgia, Lago, Florida, Trump, Atlanta, Michigan, Gaza, York

☆ Judge delays Trump hush money trial in New York
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Lauren Del Valle | Jeremy Herb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in Manhattan has agreed to delay its start, injecting more uncertainty into the legal calendar for the former president. A new trial date is yet to be determined, but is not likely before mid-April. The court will set the new trial date, if necessary, when it rules on Defendants motion following the hearing,” the judge added. Trump’s attorneys had asked to delay the trial by 90 days – or dismiss the case entirely – over recent records productions in the last 10 days from federal prosecutors. The district attorney’s office blamed Trump’s team for the late production of material, noting that it did not subpoena the US attorney’s office until January.

Persons: Donald, Alvin Bragg’s, Juan Merchan, ” Merchan, Elie Honig, Merchan, ” Honig, “, Trump, reimbursements, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Trump’s Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, Attorney’s Office, Trump, Department of Justice, US, Office, Southern, of Locations: Manhattan, Trump, of New York

☆ How Trump will seek to pit federal judges against each other to avoid trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Katelyn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. That would create a hole in Trump’s court schedule after the New York trial that no other case is positioned to fill. The special counsel’s office has repeatedly argued that the public, too, deserves to have Trump’s federal election case before a jury quickly, potentially even before the next presidential election. While Trump couldn’t be on trial simultaneously in two different courts, judges could have overlapping schedules initially because trial dates can often move. He’s not going to be in more than one criminal trial at the same time.”CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Tanya Chutkan, ”, Aileen Cannon, Trump’s, Cannon, Aileen Canon, Obama, Chutkan, Trump, Stormy Daniels, “, ” Trump, Todd Blanche, –, it’s, applicant’s, Juan Merchan, ” Merchan, Blanche, ” Blanche, Merchan, Mr, He’s, ” CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand Organizations: CNN, Trump, Quinnipiac University, New, Justice Department, Supreme Locations: Florida, Georgia, Washington, DC, Manhattan, York, Fort Pierce , Florida, New York

☆ A tempestuous day in multiple courts deepens Trump’s legal imbroglio
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Washington CNN —Every day, America gets dragged deeper into Donald Trump’s legal, political and constitutional morass. But at the end of a tempestuous day, his legal strategy was clearer than ever. In itself, it represents a profound political and legal test for American democracy and the rule of law – even if it is only one of Trump’s legal threats. In a normal election, Trump would be keen to turn his fire on his likely general election foe, Biden, by late March. But he will be forced to spend day after day in court in New York.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Fani Willis, Trump’s, Michael Roman, Willis, Nathan Wade, ” Darryl Cohen, CNN’s Erin Burnett, “, ” Cohen, Wade, Trump, Caroline Polisi, Robin Yeartie –, Willis –, ” Polisi, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, –, ” Willis, Judge Juan Merchan, Biden, he’s, Alvin Bragg’s, Todd Blanche, Merchan, ” Merchan, ” Blanche, he’ll, David Weiss, Hunter Biden’s, Alexander Smirnov, Harry Reid, Smirnov Organizations: Washington CNN, Trump, Fulton, District, Republican, FBI, Burisma Holdings, Harry Reid International, GOP Locations: America, Georgia, Fulton Country , Georgia, Fulton County, York, Trump, United States, Manhattan, New York, Las Vegas

The trial is expected to last for roughly six weeks, with court in session every weekday but Wednesdays, severely limiting Trump’s ability to campaign for president during that time. The New York criminal trial also presents another problem for Trump’s ability to create a media circus – cameras are not allowed in the courtroom. It’s a criminal trial, we expect it will be mandatory,” a senior Trump adviser told CNN. The judge responded saying Trump would not be required to sit for two criminal trials at the same time. Those findings underscore the importance of Trump’s strategy of delaying the criminal cases he is facing for as long as possible.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, –, Trump, ”, District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Fani Willis, Joe Biden –, Biden, Todd Blanche, “, Bragg, it’s, I’ll, ” Trump, ‘, It’s, Judge Juan Merchan, Blanche, he’d, ” Merchan, “ That’s, – he’d, Trump’s, “ He’s, Merchan, Willis, CNN’s Terence Burlij Organizations: York, York City CNN, Republican, District Attorney, Trump, GOP, Biden, Democrats, CNN, New, “, Democrat, Granite State Locations: York City, New York, New, York, Georgia, Fulton County, Manhattan, Arizona , Florida , Illinois , Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire, Granite, South Carolina

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