Donald Trump’s $355 million fraud fine and E. Jean Carroll’s defamation verdict should be addressed in his landmark hush money trial, prosecutors argued Friday at the end of a blockbuster first week.
The former president’s lawyers responded to suggestions from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office that past cases were relevant because they were “immoral, vicious, illegal or evil acts.”
Prosecutors also offered to reveal the name of their first defense witness on Sunday if they did not tell Trump and stop “tweeting” his identity.
The argument capped a dramatic day in which Trump watched potential jurors break down in tears and claim they were too stressed to perform as the court seated a full jury for opening statements on Monday.
The 77-year-old turned around and watched as a woman revealed to the court that she was an ex-convict and a drug addict serving time in prison.
Donald Trump’s $355 million fraud fine and E. Jean Carroll’s defamation verdict should be addressed in his landmark hush money trial, prosecutors argued Friday at the end of a blockbuster first week.
He was also startled when another man said he once volunteered for Clinton and had been interested in a woman who said her father was friends with former presidential candidate Chris Christie.
Horrific scenes also unfolded outside the courtroom when a man set himself on fire in a park across the street.
As he left the courtroom, Trump accused the judge of wanting the case to move forward “as quickly as possible.”
He called the case a “giant witch hunt” and also harshly criticized New York General Letitia James for the fraud case in which he was fined $355 million.
The 77-year-old turned around and watched as a woman revealed to the court that she was an ex-convict and a drug addict serving time in prison.
The full jury is already formed in the Trump trial. Twelve Manhattan residents will decide whether he is guilty or innocent and six alternates will serve as backup.
Trump aide Margo Martin leaves court at the end of the fourth day of the trial.
‘The trial begins on Monday, much earlier than many people thought. The judge wants this to go as quickly as possible. That’s for his reasons, not mine.
He then left the courthouse in midtown Manhattan and will head to North Carolina on Saturday night for a campaign rally.
The full jury (12 regular members and six substitutes) was chosen shortly after 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
Lawyers then returned to the courtroom to discuss what evidence should be allowed in the case in the so-called Sandoval Hearing.
Judge Juan Merchán snapped at Trump’s lawyer, Emil Bove, and told him to sit down.
The moment came after prosecutors requested that Michael Cohen’s phone records be sealed so that they would not reveal personal information about people who had nothing to do with the case.
Judge Merchan said the idea of forcing prosecutors to redact all documents was “absurd.”
The arguments capped a dramatic day in which Trump watched potential jurors break down in tears and claim they were too stressed to serve as the court seated a full jury for opening statements on Monday.
As he left the courtroom, Trump accused the judge of wanting the case to go “as quickly as possible.”
He told Bove: ‘Don’t interrupt me.’
Bove protested, “I won’t interrupt you.”
Judge Merchan said, “Oh, you are, have a seat.”
Judge Merchán signed the order sealing the records.
The first topic in Sandoval’s hearing was prosecutors’ request to question Trump about a New York judge’s $364 million judgment against Trump in his fraud trial earlier this year.
Bove said the verdict was on appeal and that Trump would “have to respond,” which would take the trial down a “rabbit hole.”
Judge Merchán was skeptical, saying it was standard practice for a defendant to be asked about previous legal actions and for him to respond while being cross-examined.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said it should be allowed.
He said, “It is difficult to think of anything that is more squarely in the wheelhouse of a proper impeachment review as to its credibility than a judge’s finding of fraud and illegality by a New York state judge.”
The next issue was contempt findings by Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over the fraud trial, that Trump violated his gag order prohibiting him from talking about witnesses or his staff.
Bove argued there would be a “significant risk of confusion” to the jury if they were introduced.
Colangelo responded that these findings were relevant because they were evidence of “immoral, vicious, illegal or evil acts” outside of the accused conduct.
He said it was difficult to find anything more probative than Judge Engoron saying, after calling Trump to the witness stand and asking him to testify about the failure to comply with his order, that “the defendant’s testimony rings hollow and false.”
Trump’s lawyers also objected to the possibility of Trump being questioned about the two defamation verdicts in civil cases brought against him by journalist E. Jean Carroll.
She won an $83.3 million judgment against Trump earlier this year, having already won $5 million when a jury found him responsible for sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s.
Trump called the case a “giant witch hunt” and also criticized New York General Letitia James over the fraud case in which he was fined $355 million.
The former president’s lawyers responded to suggestions from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office that past cases were relevant because they are “immoral, vicious, illegal or evil acts.”
Prosecutors were also seeking to question Trump about his real estate empire being found guilty of tax fraud and falsifying business records in 2022.
Bove called the case “unacceptable as a basis for impeachment” and said it “takes prurience to another level.”
Colangelo said the fact that Trump was found liable for defamation with actual malice was “critical evidence in assessing the credibility of the defendant.”
The court then focused on Trump’s lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and others alleging extortion and conspiracy against him.
The case was dismissed by Florida federal judge Donald Middlebrooks last year, who ordered $1 million in sanctions against Trump’s lawyers.
Trump’s lawyers also objected to the possibility of Trump being questioned about the two defamation verdicts in civil cases brought against him by journalist E. Jean Carroll.
The judge said in a scathing ruling: “We are faced with a lawsuit that should never have been brought, that was completely frivolous, both in fact and in law, and that was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose.”
‘Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigator who repeatedly uses the courts to exact revenge on his political adversaries. He is the mastermind behind the strategic abuse of the judicial process. He knew very well the impact of his actions.
Bove tried to argue that it was “a long way off” from the conduct in the hush money case.
But Judge Mercan was skeptical and said it appeared “straightly” within the relevant law.
Colangelo agreed and said that in a case where ‘credibility will be essential’, this was a very relevant issue.
Prosecutors were also seeking to question Trump about his real estate empire being found guilty of tax fraud and falsifying business records in 2022.
They also sought to question Trump when in 2019 he was ordered to pay $2 million for embezzling funds to the Trump Foundation, his charity.
Trump’s lawyers objected to both.
Judge Merchan said he would reverse his final ruling on the evidence and it would be revealed on Monday.