Former President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on his hush money trial before it began Monday, arguing the case is a violation of the statute of limitations, and Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan should lift the gag order against him, just hours before he arrived in court.
Former US President Donald Trump attends the first day of his trial for allegedly covering up hush ... [+]
Trump, referring to the case as “the Biden Manhattan Witch Hunt Case,” said it should be “BARRED by the Statute of Limitations,” he wrote, questioning why the case wasn’t brought “7 years ago,” when prosecutors say his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, allegedly paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to silence her allegations of an affair with Trump ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump and his lawyers have repeatedly argued the 34 felony falsifying business charges he faces were filed outside of the five-year statute of limitations, but the timeline for bringing criminal charges was extended by more than a year during the pandemic, and prosecutors could also argue the five-year clock was paused whenever Trump spent extended periods living in Florida.
Calling on Merchan to lift the gag order against him, Trump said Monday, “I want my VOICE back,” calling the order “unconstitutional” and claiming, without evidence, the trial was “rigged” and a product of “election interference.”
Merchan in March issued an order prohibiting Trump from disparaging potential witnesses, court staff and their family members and the family members of Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
On Sunday, Trump claimed Merchan and Bragg had been holding back key documents in the trial from his lawyers, but the trial had been delayed a month so Trump’s team could review the materials.
Prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys will cross-examine a pool of potential jurors beginning Monday to decide who can serve in a fair and impartial manner. Twelve jurors and six alternates will be selected by the end of the process, which is expected to take at least a week. Bragg brought the case in April last year, marking the first-ever criminal indictment of a current or former president. The case accuses Trump’s company of making $130,000 in payments to Cohen falsely labeled as “legal fees” to reimburse Cohen for the alleged hush money payments to Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied having an affair with Daniels.
Trump has repeatedly tested the limits of his gag order, attacking Cohen as a “disgraced attorney” and referring to him and Daniels as “sleaze bags.” Merchan expanded the gag order to include members of his own family and Bragg’s after Trump repeatedly assailed Merchan’s daughter on Truth Social, pointing out her position as an executive at a political consulting firm that frequently works with Democrats, including Biden.
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