Trump trial live: Hush money case opening statements set for Monday

Donald Trump’s request to halt his New York hush money trial was rejected by an appeals court judge on Friday.

The ruling came just hours after the jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated in the case.

Justice Marsha Michael took just minutes to issue the ruling after a short hearing.

The former president’s legal team had asked the judge to pause the case brought by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg as they attempted to have it moved out of the borough.

Melania Trump has given a rare interview to Fox News urging the country to “unite” as the 2024 campaign heats up and her husband, former President Donald Trump, faces a hush money trial in New York.

The former first lady has so far shied away from the trail during the 2024 campaign but on Saturday will attend a Mar-a-Lago event hosted by the LGBT+ group the Log Cabin Republicans, focused on its get-out-the-vote programme aimed at gay voters in battleground states.

“We must unite in our effort to establish a society where equality is the everyday experience of every American,” Ms Trump told Fox News Digital ahead of the event. “Individual freedom provides a unifying set of principles, and ultimately establishes our American way.”

She added that when America succeeds, it “blossoms into a magnificent place where everyone can practice their beliefs, share new ideas, and express individualism — this is when we are our best”.

Attorneys for Donald Trump told a judge overseeing the former president’s hush money trial on Friday that Manhattan prosecutors are merely trying to “distract” jurors and “pile things on” by introducing evidence from the former president’s string of other criminal and civil cases.

New York Justice Juan Merchan presided over a hearing to outline what prosecutors intend to ask Mr Trump if he chooses to testify at his criminal trial, including a defamation case and allegations of sexual abuse, a massive civil fraud judgment finding him liable for tens of millions of dollars, felony convictions targeting his business, and the dissolution of a namesake foundation used to boost his presidential campaign.

But the judge said that prosecutors’ request falls within the grounds of the so-called Sandoval hearing, during which a defendant with a history of misconduct or criminal acts who also plans to testify in his defence knows what they could be walking into.

Across his civil and criminal cases, Mr Trump’s legal team has tried to distance the former president from any allegations of wrongdoing.

Mr Trump has insisted he has done nothing wrong, and that the cases against him are a Democratic-led “election interference” conspiracy.

Judge Merchan will decide by Monday – when opening arguments in the hush money trial are expected to begin – on what materials prosecutors can use, if any, in an effort to undermine Mr Trump’s credibility on the stand.

Convicted killer Robert Durst reminded The Jinx director Andrew Jarecki of someone else prone to lying: former US president Donald Trump.

Jarecki spoke to The Independent ahead of the release of The Jinx – Part Two, the sequel to his 2015 hit series about the multiple murder allegations against realty heir Durst, which is set to air on Max this Sunday.

Susan Necheles, Mr Trump’s attorney, asked for the name of at least one witness that prosecutors want to introduce.

“Whether you get the name or not, you’re not going to delay the trial. You won’t,” Judge Juan Merchan said.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass argues that giving Trump those names will make them targets on social media. Instead, prosecutors will introduce the name of a witness who could testify on Monday on Sunday night and if Trump talks about that person, that’s the last time they will do that.

Proceedings for the day are about to end.

Judge Juan Merchan’s final point today digs into Trump’s only legal strategy: “Defence cannot continue to submit promotion letters, or motions, or requests to reargue, or for the court to reconsider, every single decision,” he said.

“Defence is literally targeting individual decisions one by one by one by one,” Judge Merchan continued. “That has to end … There comes to a point where you accept my rulings … I’ve entertained your motions. I’ve entertained your arguments in good faith.”

He notes that the trial starts on Monday.

Judge Juan Merchan said he will make a decision on the Sandoval material by Monday morning.

Donald Trump’s lawyers said that the Trump Foundation settlement has a stipulation that states the agreement “should not be construed as an admission of liability.”

“It doesn’t speak to Trump’s credibility, and this one should stay out,” Mr Bove adds.

Matthew Colangelo, a prosecutor, argues that the decision and order determined that Trump breached his fiduciary duties, including using his campaign to orchestrate fundraisers, the campaign directing the distribution of funds, and using the foundation to boost his campaign.

Pivoting to the New York civil fraud case: New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked Justice Arthur Engoron to reject the Knight Specialty Insurance Company surety, claiming the movants “cannot demonstrate that KSIC’s management meets the requirements of trustworthiness and competence under regulations.”

Justice Engoron is holding a hearing on Monday to determine the bond’s effectiveness

Catch up with that case here: