In a previous press conference, President Trump expressed his willingness to testify but also expressed his expectation that the trial would be postponed beyond the scheduled April 15 trial date. The case is scheduled to proceed to trial on Monday after three consecutive rejections from the appellate division of the New York Supreme Court to delay the trial pending appeals. Former President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday that he would testify at his hush money trial in Manhattan if called upon to do so, which is scheduled to begin next week.
Selection of jurors is scheduled to begin on April 15. On April 12, the defence objected to the judge’s questions aimed at prospective jurors, requesting additional investigation into those who had unfavourable opinions about the presumed Republican nominee.
“The selection of juries is mostly random. It is dependent upon whom you choose. “It’s incredibly unjust that my trial is taking place there [in Manhattan],” declared Trump.
He also condemned New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, alleging political bias. The defense has made two requests for the judge to recuse himself from the case, but the judge has already refused to step down once.
“It’s very unfair that we have this judge that hates Trump and has this tremendous conflict,” Trump said. “Nobody can believe this judge isn’t recusing himself, the conflict is at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.”
There are three more trials against Trump, but it’s unlikely that they will be heard before the election in November.
He and fourteen other people are accused of racketeering in Georgia because of their participation in the 2020 election contest. Prosecutors have suggested holding a trial in August that should last four months or longer. The legal team for President Trump argues that it would be obvious election meddling to convene the trial just before the presidential elections.
Trump is being tried on 40 counts in Florida related to allegedly mishandling secret data; the trial was originally set for May 20. But the judge alluded to possible timeline revisions because the discovery process turned up more detailed and comprehensive material than expected. That said, Trump’s codefendants have insisted on a prompt trial. If the case cannot proceed to trial by May 20, it might need to be resolved for them without a trial.
Similar arguments have been made by the former president in a few other cases. Although oral arguments are slated for later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court is not likely to rule until June.