OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump might have implicated himself in a post-court tirade on Tuesday, according to former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin.
With seven jurors seated thus far in the ex-president’s criminal trial, jury selection began on Monday. To avoid scrutiny regarding his extramarital affairs before the 2016 presidential election, Trump has entered a not-guilty plea to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Trump yelled at reporters on Tuesday after the court adjourned, just like he did the day before.
“I was paying a lawyer and we marked it down as a legal expense — some accountant,” Trump stated, alluding to his former attorney Michael Cohen, who made the payments and was ultimately convicted and imprisoned for his role. “I didn’t know. Mark it down as a legal expense. That’s exactly what it was. And you get indicted over that?”
CNN’s Anderson Cooper aired the clip on AC360 and asked law professor Jessica Roth, “Is that incriminating?”
“That was an interesting statement,” she said. “I don’t think we should overstate how incriminating it was. His name– he signed some of the checks to Michael Cohen reimbursing him for these fees. When he started to say, I marked it down as legal expenses, my ears perked up because it’s been a little bit unclear exactly how the state is going to prove that Trump falsified the records because many of these entries may have been made by the accountants for the Trump Organization.”
Toobin agreed that Trump may blame any irregularities on his accountants responsible for the bookkeeping.
“That’s gonna be a big issue in the case,” he said. “How is the government gonna prove that Trump knew and initiated or at least supported the idea that these payoffs were recorded as legal fees? He said, ‘Mark them down.’ Now, as Jessica said, he sort of caught himself. But, you know, that that video could be played before the jury, no question.”
Jeffrey Toobin Suggests Trump Hurt Himself with Courthouse Rant: ‘That Video Could Be Played Before the Jury’ https://t.co/iRwh3HzT05
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) April 17, 2024
Trump is on trial in New York City on felony charges regarding a 2016 payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
With a 6-8 week trial duration anticipated overall, jury selection may take up to two weeks.
“After seating the seventh juror in the case, Judge Juan Merchan reiterated his hope that opening statements could commence Monday if the remaining jurors are selected by then,” ABC News reported.
“The judge then concluded the proceedings for the day. Court will be in recess on Wednesday, and jury selection will resume Thursday with the fresh batch of 96 prospective jurors. With seven jurors now seated, 11 more jurors — six of them alternates — remain to be chosen,” the outlet added.
Until then, “put the case out of your mind,” Merchan told the seventh juror. “Don’t think about it, don’t talk about it.”
Six jurors have been selected to serve in the criminal trial of Donald Trump for hush money. They represent a diverse cross-section of New York City, as per their biographical information. For security reasons, their identities are being kept private. Here is a brief sketch of each juror.
ABC News noted:
Juror No. 1 is a middle-aged salesman who immigrated to the United States from Ireland. He lives in West Harlem and said he normally gets his news from the New York Times, Daily Mail, Fox News and MSNBC. In his spare time, he said he enjoys doing “anything outdoorsy.”
Juror No. 2 works as an oncology nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering. She lives with her fiancé and enjoys taking her dog for walks in the park. She said she gets her news from The New York Times, CNN, Google, and Facebook.
Juror 3 is a corporate attorney who moved to New York from Oregon five years ago. He has worked at two major white-shoe law firms in New York. He said he normally gets his news from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Google. In his spare time, he said he enjoys hiking and running.
Juror No. 4 said he finds the former president to be “fascinating and mysterious.” Originally from Puerto Rico, he has lived in the Lower East Side for the last 40 years. He is a self-employed IT consultant who attended one year of college and has been “married for a long time.” He normally gets his news from the Daily News, The New York Times, Google.
Juror No. 5 was the only potential juror who raised her hand when lawyers asked if they had ever heard of Trump’s other criminal cases. A life-long New Yorker, she currently works as an ELA teacher in a charter school and lives in Harlem. She normally gets her news from Google and TikTok but said that she “doesn’t really care for the news.”
Juror No. 6 is a software engineer who works for the Walt Disney Company, which is the parent company of ABC News. She grew up in New York City and lives in Chelsea with three roommates. She said she gets her news from The New York Times and TikTok. In her spare time, she said she enjoys plays, restaurants, dancing, and watching TV.
Trump, who denies any wrongdoing in the New York criminal case, has repeatedly criticized it as a politically motivated witch hunt.
