Trump hush money trial enters day 2

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media following the second day of his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 16, 2024 in New York City. (Mary Altaffer-Pool/Getty Images)

Seven jurors were picked in the hush money criminal against former President Trump before the court adjourned for the second day.

The jurors include two lawyers, an IT worker, an English teacher, an oncology nurse, a sales professional, and a software engineer.  

The jurors are picked by process of elimination in a system that will repeat until a full jury is selected: Eighteen prospective jurors are brought to the jury box and then lawyers move to have certain prospective jurors eliminated “for cause.”

They then eliminate some with peremptory challenges, which don’t require a reason.

Former President Trump said the criminal trial is having a "reverse effect," during a campaign visit Tuesday evening to an Upper Manhattan bodega, while vowing to "straighten out New York" by working with the Democrat mayor and governor if elected to another term in the White House. 

Trump visited an Upper Manhattan bodega Tuesday evening after spending hours in downtown New York City courtroom for the second day of his criminal trial stemming from charges brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee pleaded not guilty to all charges brought by Bragg. 

This is an excerpt of a story by Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman. Click here to read the full report.

Trump makes an appearance at a Harlem bodega. (REUTERS/Adam Gray)

A crowd of onlookers broke into a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner during former President Trump’s appearance at a Harlem bodega Tuesday evening.

The National Anthem could be heard in the background as the GOP frontrunner spoke to the media outside the bodega.

Trump’s visit to the site of a 2022 violent attack on an employee was intended to highlight what he regards as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s poor handling of the stabbing case.

The Manhattan DA is overseeing the office now prosecuting Trump for hush money payments made during the 2016 selection. Tuesday marked the second day of jury selection.  

Former President Trump arrived at a bodega in Harlem Tuesday following his second day in the hush money trial.

The Sanaa Convenient Store, which sells chips, sodas, and other snacks, was the site of a violent attack on an employee in 2022.

The clerk, Jose Alba, was charged with stabbing and killing the attacker, Austin Simon. Alba was later arrested and charged with murder, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped the charges within weeks, saying they could not prove Alba had not acted in self-defense.

Trump arrived to chants of "four more years!" and "we love Trump!"

The GOP front runner said the real crime was "in the bodegas."

"You know where the crime is? In the bodegas," he said. "Where they come and rob them eveyr week or more than that."

Trump exits Trump Tower/Probe-Media for Fox News Digital

Former President Donald Trump is anticipated to speak in Harlem Tuesday, following his second day in court for the hush money trial.

Trump is expected to speak outside of a bodega in Harlem where bodega employee Jose Alba stabbed an ex-con to death in 2022 following an altercation.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who brought forth the charges against Trump in the hush money case, originally charged Alba with murder and held on $500,000 bail.

The murder charge was ultimately dropped against Alba, after mounting pressure that the bodega worker had acted in self-defense.

Trump is anticipated to discuss crime and Bragg in his comments Tuesday.

Trump sketch in courtroom/Christine Cornell

A new pool of 96 jurors was brought into the Manhattan court Tuesday afternoon where former President Donald Trump is facing the hush money trial.

The 96 potential jurors were sworn in ahead of the defense team and prosecutors questioning the individuals to determine if they can serve in an unbiased manner.

The new group of potential jurors comes after six jurors from a separate pool of 96 were selected and sworn in to serve on the panel earlier Tuesday afternoon. The jurors in the original pool were dismissed over bias, health issues, scheduling conflicts, or other issues.

The court must select 12 jurors as well as a handful of alternates to continue with the case.

Trump in courtroom/AP

The six jurors selected to serve on the panel in former President Donald Trump's hush money case were officially sworn in Tuesday.

The six jurors - half of the needed 12 jurors - were sworn in and told to next appear in court on Monday, April 22nd. Merchan also delivered instructions to the jurors to not discuss the case, or conduct any research on the case.

The six stood up and all raised their right hands while being sworn in.

The court will next need to select another six jurors, in addition to a handful of alternates.

The six selected jurors comes after dozens of others were dismissed from the case over bias, health issues or scheduling conflicts, scheduling conflicts or other issues.

Trump in Manhattan courtroom/AP Photo

Six jurors in former President Donald Trump's hush money case were selected and seated on the panel Tuesday.

Jury selection began Monday with 96 potential jurors. Dozens were dismissed between Monday and Tuesday, citing bias in the case, health issues or scheduling conflicts, while others were dismissed for scheduling conflicts or other issues.

Half of the 12 needed jurors have been seated as of Tuesday afternoon.

The six chosen jurors comes after presiding Judge Juan Merchan warned Trump earlier Tuesday against speaking during jury selection.

“I won’t tolerate that…I won’t have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom…take a moment and speak to your client," Merchan said.

Trump in courtroom/Getty

Three jurors were selected Tuesday afternoon to sit on the panel for former President Donald Trump's hush money case.

After questioning a pool of 96 potential jurors, three individuals were chosen for the panel Tuesday, meaning the court has a quarter of the required 12 jurors.

At least 73 of the jurors have been dismissed so far, citing bias in the case, health issues or scheduling conflicts, while others were dismissed for scheduling conflicts or other issues.

Jury selection is anticipated to last at least a week, as the defense team and prosecution work to select 12 New Yorkers and a handful of alternates to serve on the panel in an unbiased manner.

Sketch of Trump in court/Christine Cornell

Judge Juan Merchan warned former President Donald Trump against speaking during jury selection in the hush money trial on Tuesday.

“I won’t tolerate that…I won’t have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom…take a moment and speak to your client," Merchan said.

Merchan said Trump had spoken audibly while a juror was at the podium and made gestures towards the juror.

The warning comes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg filed a motion Tuesday to hold former President Trump in contempt of court. Bragg argued Trump violated a gag order imposed upon him by publishing three social media posts related witnesses in the trial

Trump leaving for Manhattan courtroom/Fox News Digital

Former President Donald Trump reentered the Manhattan courtroom Tuesday afternoon around 2:15 after taking lunch recess.

Trump did not speak to the press before entering the room.

Earlier Tuesday, ahead of entering the courtroom for day two of the trial, Trump railed against presiding Judge Juan Merchan as "conflicted" and a "Trump-hating judge."

"We have a Trump-hating judge. We have a judge who shouldn't be on this case. He's totally conflicted. But this is a trial that should never happen. It should have been thrown out a long time ago," Trump said Tuesday before heading into the courtroom, referring to Judge Juan Merchan.

"It's a trial that is being looked upon and looked at all over the world. … They're looking at, analyzing it. Every legal pundit, every legal scholar said this trial is a disgrace," he added. 

Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Judge Juan Merchan ordered a lunch recess at 1pm in former President Trump's hush money payment trial on Tuesday.

The court will return from recess at 2 pm, and lawyers for Trump and the prosecution will question the remaining jury candidates. Of the original pool of 96 jurors, just six have yet to be questioned.

At least 73 of the jurors have been dismissed so far, citing bias in the case, health issues or scheduling conflicts.

Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, questioned groups of jurors in 30-minute intervals throughout Tuesday's hearing, with prosecutors being afforded the same time. Trump listened attentively to the questions throughout the process.

Blanche questioned jurors extensively about their views of Trump, with many saying they didn't have strong views, or were capable of leaving those views at the door for the sake of a trial.

Fox News legal editor Kerri Kupec Urbahn and former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky reacted to former President Trump’s hush money trial kicking off in New York on Tuesday.

Urbahn pointed to the fact that Cohen is not under a gag order in the trial and is free to conduct TV interviews throughout, while Trump has been banned from doing so by Judge Juan Merchan.

"He can do media interviews and he can say whatever he wants without consequence because he's not under penalty of perjury, something he should well know having been convicted of that before," Urbahn said.

She went on to point out that the gag order prevents Trump from counteracting Cohen's public statements.

"When the star witness, with the entire case hinging on this one person, is a known liar, it makes it pretty frustrating to not being to talk about," she said.

Cherkasky added that Cohen is a "terrible" witness to bring to the stand due to his history of lying, but prosecutors will nevertheless rely on him.

More than a dozen additional jurors have been excused from participating in former President Trump's hush money payments trial so far Tuesday.

The court started on Monday with 96 potential jurors, with roughly 50 being excused on Monday for saying they could not be impartial in the case, and an additional 9 were removed for other reasons. That left roughly 35 candidates on Tuesday, and now 14 of those have been excused.

Six of the Tuesday removals came because candidates said they could not be impartial, while the other 8 had scheduling conflicts or other issues.

One man, who remains unidentified, was excused because he was getting married outside of New York City in June and Judge Juan Merchan could not guarantee that the trial would be concluded by then.

Another woman, from Harlem, was excused after she confirmed that she has "strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about former President Donald Trump."

Others were excused for health reasons or conflicts with their work schedules.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called on Judge Juan Merchan to threaten former President Trump with 30 days in jail as part of his contempt of court motion on Tuesday.

Bragg is urging Manhattan Judge Merchan to warn Trump that "future violations" of the gag order against him can be punished "not only with additional fines, but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days." 

Merchan last month imposed a gag order on Trump, due to his "prior extrajudicial statements." Merchan said they established "a sufficient risk to the administration of justice."

Merchan ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses concerning their potential participation or about counsel in the case — other than Bragg — or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

Merchan also ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about any prospective juror or chosen juror.

During the first day of the criminal trial and start of jury selection, Manhattan prosecutors suggested Trump had violated the order on three separate occasions on social media. Prosecutors said Trump should be fined $3,000 for the three alleged violations of the gag order — $1,000 for each violation. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Brooke Singman

President Biden returns to the campaign trail on Tuesday with a visit to his childhood hometown of Scranton to begin three consecutive days of campaigning in Pennsylvania. While the Democratic incumbent is holding events in the battleground state, his 2024 opponent, Donald Trump, is forced to spend the day in a New York City courtroom for the first ever criminal trial of a former president.

Biden plans to use Scranton, a working class city of roughly 75,000 people, as the backdrop to pitch his new tax plan. His travels through Pennsylvania overlap with the start of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal hush money case against Trump.

Day two of the New York City trial continues with the jury selection at approximately 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree relating to alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels during his successful 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump has been ordered to attend the court proceedings Tuesday and every day of the trial. Judge Juan Merchan told Trump that if he fails to be present, a warrant will be issued for his arrest.

Biden plans to spend Tuesday night in Scranton before continuing to Pittsburgh on Wednesday morning. He is expected to then briefly visit the White House, but intends to return to Pennsylvania on Thursday, with an event in Philadelphia.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Lawrence Richard

The vast majority of Americans side with former President Trump when it comes to his hush money payments trial in New York City, according to an Associated Press/NORC poll.

The poll found that just 35% of Americans believe Trump committed a crime when sending hush money payments to pornography actress Stormy Daniels. Trump made the payments in an effort to prevent her from coming forward about an affair he had with her prior to the 2016 election.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records. The AP poll found that 31% of Americans believe Trump's actions were unethical, but not illegal. Meanwhile, 14% said Trump did nothing wrong, and 19% said they didn't know enough to be sure.

Americans are more convinced that Trump may have committed a crime in the three other indictments against him, however, with 47% of respondents saying his alleged election interference in Georgia was illegal.

Another 47% say Trump committed a crime by keeping classified documents inside his Florida home, while 45% say his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election were illegal.

Alvin Bragg (Getty Images)

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg called on Judge Juan Merchan to hold former President Trump in contempt of court on Tuesday.

Bragg filed the motion just minutes after the second day of Trump's hush money payments trial got underway in Manhattan. The motion relates to Merchan's gag order against Trump, which prohibits him from speaking publicly about prosecutors, witnesses, court officials and their families.

Bragg's motion argues Trump has "willfully violated this Court's order by publishing several social media posts attacking two known witnesses— Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels."

"Both the public and the participants in the criminal trial deserve reassurance that the judicial system stands ready to protect them and to preserve the rule of law in the face of defendant's extreme and deliberate provocations," Bragg argues in the motion.

"It is absolutely critical that defendant immediately halt any conduct that would violate the April 1 order's narrow restrictions to protect the integrity of the ongoing trial. A finding of criminal contempt, imposition of sanctions, and stark warnings from this Court are the minimum remedies necessary to achieve this indispensable objective," it continued.

Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Former President Trump lashed out at Judge Juan Merchan and President Biden as he entered the courthouse for day two of his hush money payments trial on Tuesday.

Trump called Merchan a "Trump-hating judge," and claimed that Biden was pushing the charges against him in an effort to derail his presidential campaign.

"We have a Trump-hating judge...this is a trial that never should have happened. It should have been thrown out a long time ago," Trump said. "I was paying a lawyer and it was marked down as a legal expense. That's exact

"I should be in Pennsylvania, Florida, in many other states," he added. "This is all coming from the Biden White House because the guy can't put two sentences together."

Trump went on to say Judge Merchan should recuse himself from before turning to enter the court room.

Separate from charges in Bragg’s criminal case against the former president, Trump is facing dozens of charges in three other jurisdictions.

Special Counsel Jack Smith charged the former president with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. 

Those charges stem from Smith’s months-long investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The Supreme Court, on April 25, will hear arguments on presidential immunity and whether Trump is immune from prosecution by Smith.

Those charges were brought in federal court in Washington D.C.

Separately, Smith was investigating whether Trump improperly retained classified records from his presidency at Mar-a-Lago.

Smith charged Trump with 37 felonies, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

Trump was also charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of the investigation – an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The charges were brought against Trump in federal court in the Southern District of Florida.

And in Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis was investigating alleged 2020 election interference.

In August 2023, Willis charged Trump with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Trump's motorcade pulled up to the courthouse just before 9 a.m., preparing for a long day of jury selection proceedings. Trump's attorneys have said they expect jury selection to last for several weeks as they attempt to build and unbiased jury.

Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Trump complained once again about the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan prior to his arrival.

"This conflicted, Trump Hating Judge won’t let me respond to people that are on TV lying and spewing hate all day long. He is running rough shod over my lawyers and legal team. The New York System of “Justice” is being decimated by critics from all over the World. I want to speak, or at least be able to respond. Election Interference! RIGGED, UNCONSTITUTIONAL TRIAL! Take off the Gag Order!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Merchan's gag order prevents Trump from speaking about witnesses, court officials and their families.

Donald Trump

Former President Trump is currently undergoing a historical criminal trial after being charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, raising the big question: can he pardon himself if convicted as president?

If Trump is found guilty of making hush money payments prior to the 2016 presidential election – and goes on to win the presidency in November – the law prohibits him from pardoning himself in this specific case. 

According to the Constitution, a president may pardon himself if the charges are made on a federal level, specifically if it would "grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States." Trump's hush money trial is a state case, meaning the law would prevent him from being able to pardon himself if he were convicted. 

If found guilty by a jury, Trump could be sentenced to probation or several years in prison.

Former President Trump’s defense attorney in the case brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is Todd Blanche.

Blanche is a white-collar defense attorney and a former partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, one of New York City’s oldest white-shoe law firms. 

Blanche previously represented Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort was charged as part of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation in 2019, and pleaded guilty to foreign lobbying and witness tampering, as well as tax fraud and conspiracy.

Blanche joined Trump’s legal team last year.

He successfully got a criminal case against Manafort dismissed in the same courthouse where Trump now faces charges.

Manafort, at the time, was convicted of a mortgage fraud scheme in federal court and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Hours after Manafort was sentenced, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office under Cyrus Vance Jr., Bragg's predecessor, announced a 16-count indictment against Trump's ally, alleging he had defrauded banks by lying to obtain mortgages on four properties. 

But Blanche quickly hit back with a motion arguing that Vance's prosecution was politically motivated and illegal on double jeopardy grounds.

The charges were too similar to those he'd been convicted of in federal court, the attorney argued. Blanche also contended that Vance had brought the case to ensure that Manafort would remain behind bars even if Trump pardoned him. Presidential pardons only apply to federal cases. 

The indictment was then dismissed by a Manhattan judge in a major blow to the district attorney’s office.

Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report

Bragg alleged that during the 2016 election, “Trump and others employed a ‘catch and kill’ scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects."

Bragg said Trump "then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws."

According to New York state law, a charge of falsifying business records in the first degree alleges that the defendant committed a crime of falsifying business records with the intent to defraud. The intent to defraud would be an intent to commit another crime. 

In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and the Federal Election Commission investigated the matter and opted not to charge Trump related to the payments made to Daniels and McDougal. 

The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

The second day of jury selection in former President Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial is set to begin Tuesday after half of the prospective jurors were excused Monday for saying they could not be impartial toward the presumptive Republican nominee.

Court is expected to begin again for the second day of Trump’s trial at 9:30 a.m. and will resume with jury selection.

The trial comes after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former president with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree related to alleged hush money payments made before the 2016 presidential election.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts last year.

"It’s a scam. It’s a political witch hunt," Trump said after court adjourned Monday.

Prospective jurors were asked to answer 42 questions from a questionnaire that reviews the individual’s work history, political affiliation and what media they chose to watch and listen to.

But more than 50 of the original 96 prospective jurors were excused almost immediately for admitting they could not serve as impartial jurors. Several were excused due to other issues.

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News' Brooke Singman

What is the timeline of the hush money charges against Trump?

In 2019, former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance began the investigation that led to the charges former President Trump is now facing.

Vance’s investigation was focused on possible bank, insurance and tax fraud. The case involved financial dealings of Trump’s Manhattan properties, including his flagship Fifth Avenue building, Trump Tower, and the valuation of his 213-acre Seven Springs estate in Westchester.

When he took over as district attorney in January 2022, Bragg stopped pursuing charges against Trump and suspended the investigation "indefinitely," according to one of the top prosecutors who resigned from the office in protest. 

Prosecutors Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, who had been leading the investigation under Vance, submitted their resignations after Bragg began raising doubts about pursuing a case against Trump.

After Pomerantz and Dunne resigned, seemingly amid pressure, Bragg then brought the charges against Trump.

Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office have argued that former President Trump violated the gag order imposed upon him by posting on social media three times about the case and possible witnesses.

Last month, Judge Juan Merchan imposed the gag order on Trump pointing to his "prior extrajudicial statements," saying they establish "a sufficient risk to the administration of justice."

Merchan ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses concerning their potential participation, or about counsel in the case – other than Bragg – or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

Merchan also ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about any prospective juror or chosen juror.

Merchan said he will hear arguments on whether Trump violated the gag order on April 23 at 9:30 a.m.

The district attorney's office argued Monday that Trump has violated the order three times in social media posts and should pay $1,000 for each violation of the gag order. The prosecutors said Trump should remove the posts and requested that he be held in contempt.

The defense team has until April 19 to file a written response to the prosecutors' claims Trump violated the gag order.

Former President Trump has blasted the case against him, deriding the hush money trial as “political persecution.”

“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” Trump said Monday as he entered the court house. “It’s a case that should have never been brought.”

The former president also called the trial “an assault on America. And that’s why I’m very proud to be here,” he said Monday.

Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, has also been active on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump has also blasted a gag order imposed on him by Judge Juan Merchan, which prevents him from speaking about jurors, court staff and their families.

“I want my VOICE back. This Crooked Judge has GAGGED me. Unconstitutional! The other side can talk about me, but I am not allowed to talk about them! Rigged Trial!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Trump’s campaign has also characterized the trial as a “Biden trial,” seeming to indicate that all cases brought against him have been brought in coordination with President Biden’s White House and the Democratic Party.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report

Donald Trump

On Monday, Judge Juan Merchan began the jury selection process of whittling down a pool of 200 potential jurors to just 12 – the panel that will be selected to decide the unprecedented case against former President Trump.

After being sworn in on Monday, the judge pressed the first group of 96 potential jurors about their potential role, saying, “you alone are the judges of the facts…you alone will determine if the defendant is guilty.”

He added that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and that their decision must be guided on “a full and fair evaluation of the evidence.” 

When Merchan asked the group if they could be fair and impartial, more than half said “no.” At least 50 were dismissed for that reason.

During the selection process, each potential juror is seated in the jury box and asked to answer 42 questions that gather information about the person’s work history, political affiliations and what forms of media they choose to watch and listen to.

The prospective jurors must be Manhattan residents. They are also asked if they have any scheduling conflicts with the trial expected to last six weeks. The judge assured the jurors that if they observe the Passover holiday, they do not have to choose between jury duty and observing. Merchan said he would work around the jurors, depending on their needs.

Fox News' Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report