On Monday, jury selection began in former US President Donald Trump’s hush money payments trial.
This is the first time a former president has faced a criminal trial, and it is the first of four indictments filed against Trump. Given Trump’s prominence as the presumptive Republican nominee this year, the trial creates an odd juxtaposition of a presidential candidate spending his time between court proceedings and, as he put it, “campaigning during the night.”
Furthermore, this trial acts as a litmus test for the justice system, with a well-known defendant openly criticizing the court, his own daughter, the district attorney, some witnesses, and the accusations against him. He fiercely rejects the legitimacy of a legal system that he thinks has been hijacked by his political opponents.
This is the first time a former president has faced a criminal trial, and it is the first of four indictments filed against Trump. Given Trump’s prominence as the presumptive Republican nominee this year, the trial creates an odd juxtaposition of a presidential candidate spending his time between court proceedings and, as he put it, “campaigning during the night.”
Furthermore, this trial acts as a litmus test for the justice system, with a well-known defendant openly criticizing the court, his own daughter, the district attorney, some witnesses, and the accusations against him. He fiercely rejects the legitimacy of a legal system that he thinks has been hijacked by his political opponents.
The maximum sentence if Trump is found guilty is four years in prison, but analysts say a considerably less severe punishment would be more likely.