OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Allies and family members of the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, are criticizing Judge Juan Merchan in New York City for reminding Trump that he is legally required to attend court every day of his trial.
Donald Trump Jr. expressed his disagreement on social media stating “Pure evil”. He commented on the possibility that his father may not be able to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation on May 17 due to the trial.
According to MSNBC’s Katie Phang, Judge Merchan expressed that he could not make a ruling on the issue “at this time” but would consider it. Eric Trump also shared his thoughts on social media, calling Judge Merchan “truly heartless” for not allowing a father to attend his son’s graduation.
Responded Reuters crime reporter Brad Heath, “For better or worse, this is a routine thing when people are accused of crimes. Lots of defendants miss lots of things — kids’ births, graduations, funerals, etc. — because they are on trial or detained pending trial.”
Donald Trump’s civil court trial lawyer, Alina Habba, also noted her issues with jury selection.
“You’re not allowed to ask who they voted for,” Habba told conservative podcast host Benny Johnson. “You’re shot in the foot right there.”
Merchan is permitting a range of inquiries concerning political views, such as inquiries concerning any groups that prospective jurors may be involved in or have contributed to financially, mentioning QAnon and Antifa in particular.
Habba then claimed that Trump was unfairly at a disadvantage because he was running for office in a mostly blue state, and that this would make it “much easier” for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to assemble a jury that would most likely find Trump guilty.
“They’re going to try to get the best jury pool they can,” Habba warned.
“What is troubling in this case is that when we (she is not on this case) are doing jury selection starting today, one of the things that the judge here, Judge Merchan, would not allow us to ask was whether or not they voted Republican or Democrat, whether or not they voted for President Trump,” Habba argued.
“This judge has eliminated many of those questions. You’re not allowed to ask who they voted for (you never are), you can ask what news they watch but I watch CNN and I watch Fox because I like to know what my opposition is saying … So when you are sitting with a president and current nominee for the GOP and you can’t ask how you vote, you’re shot in the foot right there. That hindrance is an of itself is problematic right from the get-go,” she added.
On Monday night, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin weighed in on Trump’s criminal trial and said the former president got some “good news” from the judge.
Trump, the 45th president of the United States and the presumed nominee of the Republican Party, began his criminal trial on Monday, with prospective jurors gathering in a New York City courtroom as Trump observed.
Trump is accused of fabricating almost thirty business documents to conceal a payment made to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who claimed to have had a brief sexual encounter with him in 2006.
