MILWAUKEE — Not a single juror has been selected after day one of former president Donald Trump’s trial in New York. Trump is facing felony charges, accused of falsifying business records to make hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Defense attorney Julius Kim of Kim & LaVoy joined Wis. Afternoon News to break down the first day in court and what he expects to see from the high-profile trial.
“I’m betting that jury selection for this particular case could very well wrap up by the end of this week,” Kim said. “I’m going on a limb there now.”
Kim said he doesn’t expect jury selection will take as long as the multiple weeks that he’s seen suggested, but that he’s well aware of the difficulties of finding an impartial jury to judge one of the most famous and controversial men in the world.
Kim told WTMJ that he expects lawyers for both the defense and prosecution will focus on politics as a major issue when questioning potential jurors.
“The trickiness of this is trying to do that without directly asking them about their politics,” Kim said. “Lawyers have to come up with clever questions to try and dance around the issue and extrapolate from their answers. I think that’s what it’s going to come down to – whether they like Donald Trump or not.”
More than half of the first jury group of 96 potential jurors were excused after telling the judge they could not be fair and impartial.
The trial has the potential for explosive testimony, and Kim said he is looking forward to seeing Michael Cohen — Trump’s former lawyer and ‘fixer’ who said he made the alleged hush money payments at Trump’s direction — take the stand.
“Just the drama, behind Donald Trump’s former attorney, someone who really held a sacred position in Donald Trump’s inner circle, getting up there,” Kim said. “It’s going to be a very dramatic scene.
Kim said the fireworks could go both ways, saying that Cohen has also given Trump’s defense team material to attack him with on the stand.
Unlike many high-profile trials, this one will not be broadcast live via cameras in the courtroom. Judge Juan Menchen has ruled that photography will not be allowed during court, which is something Kim disagrees with.
“I like the notion of having a public trial so that everyone can see what’s going on, in this courtroom or any courtroom, so that there aren’t any questions about the integrity of the system, which is obviously a big issue these days throughout society,” Kim said.
Jury selection will resume on Tuesday.
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