Judge warns Donald Trump over ‘intimidating’ potential jurors in court

Published

1 year ago

April 16, 2024

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A judge in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has warned the former president about “intimidating” potential jurors in the case.

Justice Juan Merchan warned he would not tolerate Trump speaking while potential jurors were questioned in court on Tuesday.

He said the former president was audibly uttering something while his lawyers were questioning prospective jury members, and warned: “I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom.”

The first six jurors were selected to serve on Tuesday afternoon on the panel of 12 jurors and six alternates in the historic trial.

They include a waiter, an oncology nurse, an attorney, an IT consultant, a teacher and a software engineer.

Several others had been excused on Tuesday morning after saying they could not be impartial or because they had other commitments.

Others demurred when asked about their opinions of Trump, including one who said is personal views on the former president “has absolutely no bearing on the case that you’re presenting or defending. That is a separate thing”.

Dozens of potential jurors have yet to be questioned.

The judge also ruled on Tuesday that lawyers are allowed to ask prospective jurors about their social media posts.

That ruling came after Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche told the judge he had found several social media posts he said come from possible jurors that are “very much contrary to the answers they gave”.

Potential jurors have also been asked about where they consume their news, their opinions on Trump and whether they follow politics.

The hush money case is the first of Trump‘s four criminal cases to go to trial and may be the only one that could reach a verdict before the presidential vote in November.

If convicted, Trump – the presumptive Republican presidential nominee – would become the first former US president convicted of a crime.

He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged effort to keep salacious and, he says, bogus stories about his sex life from emerging during his 2016 campaign.

Trump has claimed the trial is the result of a politically motivated justice system working to deprive him of another term as president.

Before entering the courtroom this morning, he stopped briefly to address a TV camera in the hallway, repeating his claim that the judge is biased against him.

“This is a trial that should have never been brought,” Trump said.

Among the potential jurors dismissed on Tuesday was a woman who had previously notified the judge she had a trip planned around Memorial Day.

A man was excused after saying he could not be impartial.

Another man, who works at an accounting firm, was dismissed after saying he feared his ability to be impartial could be compromised by “unconscious bias” from growing up in Texas and working in finance with people who “intellectually tend to slant Republican”.

Jury selection could take several more days – or even weeks – in New York, which is a heavily Democratic city.

Around a third of the 96 people in the first panel of potential jurors in court on Monday remained after the judge excused some members.

More than half were excused after saying they could not be fair and impartial, and several others were dismissed for other reasons that were not disclosed.

The trial centres on $130,000 (£104,400) in payments that Trump’s company made to his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen.

He paid that sum on Trump’s behalf to keep porn actress Stormy Daniels from going public with her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier.

The former president has denied the sexual encounter ever happened.

Read more: Who is Stormy Daniels?

Prosecutors say the payments – which they claim were falsely logged as legal fees – were part of a scheme to bury damaging stories Trump feared could help his opponent in the 2016 race, particularly as his reputation was suffering at the time from comments he had made about women.

Trump said the payments, which he acknowledged reimbursing Mr Cohen for, were designed to stop Ms Daniels from going public about the alleged encounter.

The former president previously said it had nothing to do with the 2016 campaign.

If convicted of falsifying business records, Trump faces up to four years in prison, though there is no guarantee he will get time behind bars.

His three other legal cases, involving allegations of election interference and hoarding classified documents, could lead to lengthy prison sentences.

But those cases are tied up with appeals or other issues that make it increasingly unlikely they will be decided before the election.

If Trump wins in November, he could order a new attorney general to dismiss his federal cases.

US

Trump seeking to ‘manufacture a crisis’ in Chicago, says Illinois governor

Published

2 hours ago

August 24, 2025

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Trump seeking to 'manufacture a crisis' in Chicago, says Illinois governor

The governor of Illinois has accused Donald Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis” over reports the US president was considering deploying the military in the state.

US newspaper The Washington Post reported on Saturday that the Pentagon was drafting plans to deploy the US army in Chicago, the state capital.

It comes as part of Mr Trump’s crackdown on crime, homelessness, and illegal immigration in mainly Democrat-run cities. He recently deployed the National Guard in Washington DC.

In a statement responding to the report, governor JB Pritzker said Illinois had “received no requests or outreach from the federal government asking if we need assistance, and we have made no requests for federal intervention”.

He added: “The safety of the people of Illinois is always my top priority.

“There is no emergency that warrants the President of the United States federalising the Illinois National Guard, deploying the National Guard from other states, or sending active duty military within our own borders.”

The governor then said: “Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicise Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families.

“We will continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of our state, and protect the people of Illinois.”

Officials familiar with the proposals told the Post that several options were being weighed up by the US defence department, including mobilising thousands of National Guard troops in Chicago as early as September.

The Pentagon said it would not comment on planned operations, adding: “The department is a planning organisation and is continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel.”

Mr Trump, however, told reporters on Friday that “Chicago is a mess,” before attacking the city’s mayor Brandon Johnson and hinting “we’ll straighten that one out probably next”.

Mr Johnson has not yet commented on Saturday’s reports, but said on Friday that the president’s approach to tackling crime has been “uncoordinated, uncalled for and unsound”.

“There are many things the federal government could do to help us reduce crime and violence in Chicago, but sending in the military is not one of them,” he added.

It comes after around 800 National Guard troops were deployed in Washington DC earlier this month, despite the US capital’s mayor revealing crime in the capital was at its “lowest level in 30 years”.

According to preliminary figures from Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police, violent crime is down 26% in 2025 – after dropping 35% in 2024 compared with 2023.

In June Mr Trump ordered 700 US Army marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in California, during protests over mass immigration raids.

The deployment came against the wishes of state governor Gavin Newsom, who said: “The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate.

“That is not the way any civilised country behaves.”

US

Ghislaine Maxwell was given ‘platform to rewrite history’, say Virginia Giuffre’s family

Published

5 hours ago

August 24, 2025

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Ghislaine Maxwell was given 'platform to rewrite history', say Virginia Giuffre's family

The family of Virginia Giuffre, who was one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent sex trafficking accusers, have said they are “outraged” over the US Department of Justice’s release of an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell.

Maxwell – a convicted sex trafficker and ex-girlfriend of the deceased paedophile financier Epstein – refuted several claims of child sex trafficking and abuse during the two-day-long interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July.

Reacting after the transcripts of the interview were released on Friday, Ms Giuffre’s family said it gave Maxwell the “platform to rewrite history” and showed she was “never challenged about her court-proven lies”.

“As the family of one of the most prominent survivors, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, we are outraged,” they said in a statement.

“The content of these transcripts is in direct contradiction with felon Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction for child sex trafficking.”

Ms Giuffre’s family added: “This travesty of justice entirely invalidates the experiences of the many brave survivors who put their safety, security, and lives on the line to ensure her conviction, including our sister.”

Referencing Maxwell’s move to a minimum-security facility in Texas earlier this month, they said it “sends a disturbing message that child sex trafficking is acceptable and will be rewarded”.

“We continue to call upon the DOJ (Department of Justice) to do its job by investigating and holding accountable the many rich and powerful people who enabled Ghislaine Maxwell’s and Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes,” they concluded.

Ms Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, had previously claimed that Maxwell introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, before she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.

She sued Prince Andrew for sexual abuse in August 2021 – saying he had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by Epstein.

The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.

In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.

During her interview with Mr Blanche last month, Maxwell said Ms Giuffre’s allegation against the duke “doesn’t hold water”, and denied ever introducing Epstein to him or Sarah Ferguson.

She insisted Epstein and Andrew met separately, and said “I think Sarah [Ferguson] is the one that pushed that”, before saying that allegations Andrew had sex with Ms Giuffre were untrue, as she was at her mother’s 80th birthday celebrations in the countryside outside the city.

Maxwell then claimed Ms Giuffre’s allegation that she and Andrew had sexual contact in the bathroom of her London flat was not true, as the room was not big enough.

She also claimed that an image of her standing alongside Andrew with his arm around Ms Giuffre’s waist was “literally a fake photo”.

During the interview with Mr Blanche, Maxwell denied ever seeing US President Donald Trump in an “inappropriate setting” and insisted she was not aware of any Epstein ‘client list’.

Under growing pressure to release files related to Epstein, as he promised to do during his 2024 presidential campaign, Mr Trump has made a series of denials and claims about the paedophile financier.

In July, the president told reporters on Air Force One that Epstein “stole” Ms Giuffre and other young women from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Mr Trump has also floated a pardon for Maxwell, saying earlier this month that “nobody” had asked to but insisted that he has “the right to do it”.

“I’m allowed to do it, but nobody’s asked me to do it. I know nothing about it,” he added. “I don’t know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it.

“I have the right to give pardons, I’ve given pardons to people before, but nobody’s even asked me to do it.”

Maxwell was sentenced in the US in June 2022 to 20 years in prison following her conviction on five counts of sex trafficking for luring young girls to massage rooms for Epstein to abuse. She has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn her conviction.

Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.

His case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories due to his and Maxwell’s links to famous people like royals, presidents and billionaires, including Mr Trump.

No one other than Epstein and Maxwell has been charged with any criminal offences.

US

Names released of five killed in Niagara Falls tour bus crash

Published

5 hours ago

August 24, 2025

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Names released of five killed in Niagara Falls tour bus crash

The five people who died after a tour bus returning to New York City from Niagara Falls crashed have been named.

The bus, with 54 passengers on board, crashed and rolled on Interstate 90 near Pembroke, about 30 miles (48km) east of Buffalo, New York, at around 12.30pm (5.30pm UK time) on Friday.

In an update on Saturday, New York State Police said that those who died were identified as:
• Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of Madhu Bani, India;
• Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, New Jersey;
• Zhang Xiaolan, 55 of Jersey City, New Jersey;
• Jian Mingli, 56, of Jersey City;
• Xie Hongzhuo, a 22-year-old student at Columbia University, from Beijing, China.

After the student was named, Columbia University said in a statement that the faculty was “devastated”.

“This heartbreaking loss is felt deeply across our community,” it added. “We are in close contact with her family and offering them our full support.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with her family, friends, and all who have been touched by this tragedy.”

Erie County Medical Center, where 21 passengers were hospitalised for injuries, said that as of Saturday afternoon, 14 patients are in stable condition but remain at the hospital.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash, which did not involve any other vehicles. The driver had not been charged in connection with the incident as of Friday.

State police major Andre Ray said in a news conference that the driver had become distracted, lost control and overcorrected before the bus went into the right shoulder and flipped over.

“An absolute tragedy took place,” he added. “And first and foremost, our thoughts, prayers and hearts go out to those involved, their friends and their families.”

Mr Ray added that a preliminary investigation had ruled out mechanical failure or driver impairment, and that the driver survived the crash and was cooperating with police.