The former president make statements the media before entering the courtroom.
Former President Donald Trump made history on Monday as he became the first former U.S. president to stand trial in a New York City courtroom for allegedly falsifying business payments during the 2016 campaign.
The former president took a seat at the defense table inside a Manhattan court as the jury selection process starts. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee will have to be in court for four days a week for the next six or more weeks.
Before entering the courtroom, President Trump told reporters that the trial is “an assault on America” and an attack on a “political opponent,” adding: “Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
The case, he said, “should have never been brought” and is tantamount to “political persecution.” He added: “This is an assault on America and that’s why I’m very proud to be here. This is really an attack on a political opponent.”
“Every legal scholar said this this case is nonsense, it should never have been brought,” President Trump added to reporters on Monday.
While in court Monday, Judge Juan Merchan denied a Trump-brought motion for recusal and said he would not consider it again until an appeals court issued a ruling on the matter. He claimed the former president is engaging in using “inferences, innuendos, and unsupported speculation” to make claims to recuse himself.
Hundreds of people from Manhattan will file into the courthouse today to be considered as possible jurors in a process that could take multiple days.
On Truth Social, the former president wrote that the trial and case are election interference, noting that he could be using his time and money for campaigning for the 2024 presidential race instead of being in court.
At 6 a.m. Monday, the former president’s campaign sent out a lengthy press release saying District Attorney Alvin Bragg is “George Soros’s Favorite DA,” referring to the left-wing billionaire investor who has funneled millions of dollars into local elections to get leftist officials elected.
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