WEBVTT - Inside Trump Jury Selection & Spy Law 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:08.000 This is Bloomberg Law with June Brusso from Bloomberg Radio. 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:13.560 We have a trumpeting judge. We have a judge who 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:17.720 shouldn't be on this case. He's totally conflicted. But this 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:21.479 is a trial that should never happen. We think we 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:24.680 have a very conflicted, highly conflicted judge. You shouldn't be 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:28.480 on the case. And he's rushing this trial and he's 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:30.760 doing as much as he can for the Democrats. This 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:37.760 is a Biden inspired witch hunt. It's a political witch hunt. 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:41.839 It continues, it continues forever, and we're not going to 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:44.480 be given a fair trial. It's a very very Saturday. 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:48.160 Donald Trump states his grievance is about the hush money 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:52.200 trial outside the Manhattan Criminal Court every day before trial 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:57.120 and after trial. His complaints are basically the same, particularly 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:01.120 about the trial Judge one Marshawn Jump has made motions 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.800 to get the judge to recuse himself twice to no avail, 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:09.600 and Judge Marshawn is moving things along to Trump's apparent dismay. 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:13.920 On day two, seven jurors were sworn in. They are 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:18.759 an information technology worker, an English teacher and on collogy nurse, 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:22.800 a sales professional, a software engineer, and in a bit 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:26.240 of a surprise, two lawyers. The trial is not in 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:30.880 session on Wednesday, so voadir or jury selection will resume tomorrow. 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.880 Five more jurors and six alternates must be selected before 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:38.960 opening statements can begin. Joining me is Bloomberg Legal reporter 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:43.120 Patricia Hurtado, who is covering the trial. Patty, I know 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:47.440 that hordes of reporters have descended on the courthouse set 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:48.480 the scene for us. 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:51.560 There have been several hundred reporters that have come down 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.960 to the courthouse in Lower Manhattan. At least there's not 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:59.520 the anarchy we've had for Trump's arraignment last April. It's 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:05.640 much more contained. Security is tight, but it's not like 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:10.280 the staalanth or a wall of Secret Service agents guarding Trump. 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:14.320 It's been very quiet and contained. Members of the media 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:18.959 with a media lawyer's coalition went to the court people 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.080 to get it arranged. So you do have to go 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:25.320 through two TSA like screenings, and several hundred reporters are there. 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:30.079 Some celebrity journalists and celebrity lawyers are there, including Kelly 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:33.640 and Conway's ex husband George Conway has been spotted in 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:37.400 the overflow courtroom access the Trump is limited because right 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:40.080 now we're in jury selections, so the room in the 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:43.560 courtroom can seed about one hundred. They basically put in 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:48.000 ninety six people of prospective jurors, so only six pool 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.440 reporters have been allowed in the actual courtroom with Donald Trump. 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:55.200 The judge started with close to one hundred jurors on 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:58.040 the first day, and half of them were dismissed. Just 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:00.240 explain that process of. 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:04.320 Forty two questions questionnaire they have to answer, and right 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:06.960 off the bat, the judge says, you know, please let 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.360 us know you know about this case and you'd be 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:10.440 fair and impartial. 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:14.320 So normally, when duris say they think they can't be 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:17.280 fair and impartial, the judge just a little more questioning, 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:20.160 but in this first round he just let them go. 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:25.240 The judge basically was had ruled the defense wanted them 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:28.560 all to be explored, like, let's hear what everyone has 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:31.560 to say why they don't want to be on this case, right, 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:34.120 and the judge decided that was going to be a 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:36.640 waste of time. If people were being honest enough to 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:39.440 say they couldn't be fair, that it would have to 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.720 leave them and take them at face value. Trump's lawyers 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:45.440 on Monday made an argument that they wanted to hear 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:48.680 and they made emotion over the weekend that they wanted 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.720 to hear everything everyone had to say, possibly to drag 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:57.560 out the proceedings right, and the prosecutors basically accused the 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.480 defense and Trump's team of just trying to collect evidence 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:03.400 so they could have appeal issues. 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:08.120 Before the questioning of the individual perspective jurors begins, the 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:12.920 lawyers make introductory statements. Did anything strike you about those statements? 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:16.760 Yes, And one of the things I was really struck 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:20.320 with is one of the prosecutors is a long time 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:24.640 state rackets prosecutor works in the Manhattan DA's office. His 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:28.960 name is Josh Steinlass. He's really good, and he gave 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:34.640 what was pretty amazing feel that was like an opening argument, 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:38.280 and he said something along the lines of, let's all 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:42.240 admit this. This is a trial. This extraordinary. The defendant 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:45.640 is a former president of the United States, current candidate 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:48.880 running for re election. Some of you may not have 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:50.720 heard about this case and want to run out of 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:54.680 the courtroom. Let's talk about basically the elephant in the room. 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:58.080 And it was extraordinary. Many many opening statement he said 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.719 this is case has all these unusual l You have 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:04.240 a foreign president of the United States running for reelection, 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:09.080 presumptive Republican nominee in a case involves testimony of an 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:14.320 adult film actress and a lawyer who worked for Trump 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:17.320 who has pled guilty. Will let's all admit that that 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:21.600 this is extraordinary, and then went into but let's explore this, 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:26.040 putting that aside. Do you have opinions negative about this 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:29.159 or positive? It was pretty unusual, and I thought it 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:33.560 was a really good window into what the prosecution is going. 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:35.560 To be like what was the basic tenor of the 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:36.640 defense statement? 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:40.000 The defense statement was done by Todd Blanche and he 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:44.440 basically wanted to explore, you know, do people have animates 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:46.640 to Trump? And what do you think of Donald Trump? 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:47.440 Do you like him? 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:50.400 Do you really like him? Do you really really like him? 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:53.040 Or do you really dislike him? And it was all 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:55.440 on do you like him or not like him? And 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:59.560 we had a very unusual person who was eventually struck 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:03.479 last night. He's a resident of Harlem. He was friends 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:08.120 with some of the Central Park five descendants and said 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:12.760 that he knew their cousins too, and that he knew 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:16.400 Donald Trump had taken out an ad some thirty years ago. 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:19.200 And if people remember what Donald Trump did in the 0:06:19.279 --> 0:06:22.719 nineteen eighty I guess right around the time of the 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:26.440 nineteen eighty nine attack of the jogger. So this was 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:31.320 a case where five young black and Latino used were 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:36.080 charged with raping and brutally assaulting a white woman jogger 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:41.440 in Central Park, and they were arrested and convicted by 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:45.480 the Manhattan District Attorney's office, and then they were eventually 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:49.359 that same DA Robert Morgenthal in two thousand and two 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.920 said they were wrongfully convicted after a nine month investigation 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:55.880 and they cleared them of all wrongdoing. But these kids 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.720 had been in prisoned, and one of them is now 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:02.479 a city councilman, he said belong So Trump at the 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:05.720 time took out a full page ad in many newspapers, 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:09.960 including my old newspaper of Newsday, basically saying that this 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.920 was an example of how they should reinstate the death penalty. 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:17.280 And this guy remembered and he started saying, you know, well, 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:19.880 Trump walks into a room and people pay attention. And 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:22.920 he also said he didn't read the newspapers because he 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:29.440 didn't believe them. So eventually guests who struck him the prosecution, yep, 0:07:30.040 --> 0:07:32.400 because it sounded like he might be a guy that 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:37.280 made believe in conspiracies and also didn't want any information. Plus, 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.240 if he knew that, you know, if the DA's office 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:44.040 had wrongfully convicted his friends and acquaintances, he may not 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:46.600 feel too kindly to the DA. 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:51.080 On Day one, in the afternoon, when it seemed to 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.200 be moving at a glacial pace, there are reports that 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:55.880 Trump sort of dozed off. 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:59.440 I was in the overflow courtroom, and I did not 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:03.840 see that, but I did see him close his eyes 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:07.520 and lean lifting a little bit. Now, my father used 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:10.680 to do that when he was elderly, and sometimes he 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.880 was asleep. I don't know that I would say that 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:17.200 definitively that he was asleep. I also saw at one 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:21.360 moment where Trump was leaning over talking to Todd Blanche, 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:24.560 and he kept talking while Blanch was trying to talk, 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.720 and Blanche put his hand up like okay, you know, 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.120 which is kind of extraordinary. But Trump was trying to 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:33.600 get his ear when Plant was trying to make an 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:37.280 argument or talk to the prosecutor. So that's not something 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:39.960 you see every day, but so. 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:44.040 Did Trump's lawyers really dig into the social media posts 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.200 of prospective jurorsm I mean going back years. 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:47.960 Yes. 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:53.000 In fact, there was one woman who was struck. There 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:57.200 were postings of people celebrating when Joe Biden got elected, 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:01.240 and she said that she felt it was akin to 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:05.480 when people celebrated during COVID. Remember when we all went 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:09.440 out for our stoops and our fire escapes and banged 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.520 on pans to support the healthcare workers. That's what she 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:15.040 said that this was akin to. It was a celebratory 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:18.320 moment and it was just New York, you know, having 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:21.600 its day. But she did say she was driving around, honking, 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:25.320 spreading the cheer. So the judge interviewed her and asked 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:29.240 further questions and then decided that she wasn't necessarily being 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:33.160 as forthcoming as she should have been. So when she said, oh, 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:35.680 I don't have an opinion about Trump, the judge felt 0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:38.840 that that showed that she had an animus towards Trump. 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:43.200 Another woman that the Defense struck was an older woman 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:47.920 who's had an image of Obama and Trump standing together. 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:53.079 This was a Facebook post from back in twenty seventeen, 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:58.240 and it said, this isn't what I thought when they 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:02.280 said orange is the new black with Obama and Trump, 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:06.360 and then it turned out that was her husband's social 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:11.199 media post, but she had reposted it. So Da was arguing, 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:13.680 there are lots of these things that the defense was 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:17.600 trolling back in time and trying to go through everyone's 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:19.200 social media account. 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:26.000 Judge Marshawn experienced judge known for being no nonsense, even tempered, 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:29.600 but even he shouted at Trump on day two. 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:34.880 He was angry because they called this young woman in 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:38.360 about the banging of the pants and the celebratory moment, right, 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:41.520 and they called her back. And if you can imagine, 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:44.640 this poor young woman is getting brought in and has 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.720 to stand at the podium. She was twelve feet away 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:52.319 from Trump, and she started answering the questions, and apparently 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:57.240 Trump was muttering under his breast and gesticulating, and the 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:00.480 judge heard it and called out Trump on it. And 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:03.480 he told a Blanche that he had a controllers client 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:06.840 and he said he would not tolerate any durors to 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:10.520 be intimidated. So that's Trump being reprimanded by the judge 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:11.079 and war. 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.480 Coming up next on the Bloomberg Long Show, I'll continue 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:18.439 this conversation with Bloomberg legal reporter Patricia Hurtado, just, how 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.800 did two lawyers get on the jury. I'm Jim Grosso 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:27.760 and you're listening to Bloomberg. Donald Trump has pleaded not 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:32.080 guilty to thirty four felony counts of falsifying business records 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:35.600 as part of an alleged effort to keep salacious, and 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:39.280 he says bogus stories about his sex life from emerging 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:43.240 during his twenty sixteen campaign. The Manhattan trial is being 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:46.880 referred to as the hush Money Trial. The first seven 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:51.120 jurors were sworn in on Tuesday after lawyers grilled the 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:54.840 jury pool about their social media posts, political views, and 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:58.280 personal lives. There's already been one sort of dust up 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:02.280 in the court as judge when Marshawn admonished Trump after 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.600 he spoke loudly and gestured while the judge was questioning 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:08.880 a woman about a social media post. Marshan said, I 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:11.120 don't know what he was uttering, but it was audible 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:13.360 and he was gesturing, and he was speaking in the 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:17.040 direction of the juror. I won't tolerate that. I will 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:21.280 not tolerate any jurors being intimidated in this courtroom. For 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:25.199 his part, Trump has complained about the judge every day, 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:29.800 accusing him of being biased and rushing the trial, especially 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.679 not allowing Trump to miss court one day next week 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:36.240 so he can travel to DC for the Supreme Court 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:39.560 oral argument on the question of his presidential immunity. 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:42.199 Allow us to go. 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:45.240 To that and will follow me to leave here for 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.240 half a day, go to DC and go for in 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:52.040 the United States Supreme Court. Because he makes you superior. 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:53.560 I guess that the Supreme Court. 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:57.640 I've been talking to Bloomberg Legal reporter Patricia Hurtado, who's 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:02.200 covering the trial. Pat did some jurors just refuse to 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:04.040 give their opinion of Trump? 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:07.000 I wouldn't say that. I would say that. People would say, 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:10.080 I don't have an opinion. That's a difference, right. You know, 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:12.679 there were people who said, I don't have an opinion. 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:15.240 I don't think any negative things. I just don't have 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:17.679 an opinion. I don't think about him. And that might 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:21.160 be disappointing that Trump that people just don't think about him. 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:24.960 You know, one juror, potential juror, said, I know our 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:28.840 country is a huge's resting right now on this. What's 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:29.480 going to happen? 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:34.040 Jury selections seemed to be going so slowly, even Tuesday morning, 0:13:34.080 --> 0:13:37.360 with the judge just before lunch break expressing some frustration 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:41.640 that it was taking too long. Then bam, jurors were 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.760 selected one, two, three in the afternoon. What happened to 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:45.600 speed it up? 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:50.080 Everybody is expecting jury selection to be like in federal court. 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:54.920 State court is very deliberative. It's really slow and plotting. 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:58.680 I covered Harvey Weinstein's trial. It took ten days to 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:01.480 pick a jury. So that's the kind of thing that 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:05.640 is very typical. The lawyers that ask questions, they explore, 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.840 the judge limited statements to half an hour for each side, 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:14.960 and then what happened is, if you can imagine, so 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:19.320 there were ninety six potential jurors brought in, fifty excused themselves, 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:23.240 leaving us with forty six, and then they put eighteen 0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:26.400 in the box and they started asking them in the 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:29.760 jury box what they thought. So that's what took a 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:33.480 long time, because the individual jurors had to answer, have 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.320 you ever followed any q Andon movements? Do you have 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:39.880 any stronger opinions or beliefs about the former president? Do 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:42.680 you believe he shouldn't be criminally charged? You know, forty 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:46.400 two questions each person. So that's what was taking a 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:49.640 long time. And then what ended up happening is after 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:52.520 all those people were vetted, Trump couldn't put off the 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:56.680 inevitable and couldn't delay it any longer, and they asked 0:14:56.680 --> 0:15:00.200 for more time. Trump's team asked for more time, and 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:02.960 then they got a lunch break, and then they came back. 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:06.080 But they had to exercise peremptory challenges and ask them 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:07.240 some challenge for cause. 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:09.440 I just want to explain there are two kinds of 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:14.200 challenges to a juror, for cause and peremptory. And for 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.840 cause is what it sounds like, the attorney has what 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:20.800 he or she thinks is a legitimate reason to excuse 0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:24.640 the juror. However, the judge has to agree. The other 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.600 kind of challenge is peremptory, and that is for any 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:31.400 reason except for reasons of race, sex, and the like. 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:34.840 In this case, the prosecution and defense each have ten 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:40.080 peremptory challenges, and so far they've each used six, leaving 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:44.920 them with four peremptory challenges for the selection of five 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:48.680 more jurors and six alternates. So Patty, after this first 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:51.080 group of jurors, they brought in a second group. 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:54.680 They brought in a second group of ninety six, and 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:57.920 now they're going through those people, which they're going to 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:00.520 have to get. They have seven feet a juror, and 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:03.480 they have to get five more to fill the box, 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:06.320 and then they have to get at least six alternatives. 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:11.400 Not one, but two lawyers were seeded. And usually neither 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:15.360 side wants lawyers on the jury because they can insert 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:18.760 their own legal opinions and the juror is my turn 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:21.480 to them for that. Is there anything you remember about 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:24.320 the questioning of the two lawyers. 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:27.000 Well, both of them seem to do either business law 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:31.000 or civil litigation. I definitely know jural number seven is 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:34.320 a white man, a civil litigator who doesn't know anything 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:38.000 about criminal law. I don't know anything about election finance. 0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:41.000 To the degree that I know, I can put it aside. 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:45.000 Do you think you should hold Trump to a higher standard? Answer? 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:45.320 No. 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:49.120 What are your thoughts on Trump? Answer ambivalent? Some of 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:51.160 the things I like, some of the things I don't. 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.000 I'm not sure if I have any opinions about his character. 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:57.920 I'm not sure I know anything about it. I'm a litigator, 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:00.440 so I take a law seriously, and I will take 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:06.159 the judges instruction seriously. Another juror, who is number three, 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:11.240 apparently a young Asian male, says, I'm not actually super 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:15.120 familiar with these charges or the other charges. I don't 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:19.000 really follow the use that closely. I'm a little embarrassing 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:24.760 to stay he won. Duror, a middle aged man, said 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:29.920 he's during number four quote. I find him fascinating and mysterious. 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.800 He walks into a room and sets people off. He's 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:34.080 an IT consultant. 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:36.919 So the judge had set off two weeks for jury selection. 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.119 Now he asked the first seven jurors to report to 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:42.160 court as soon as Monday. Does that mean that there 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:43.960 could be opening statements on Monday? 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:47.000 That's up in the air. He told the people that 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:51.119 were sworn in as jurors to keep in touch and 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:54.720 they could come back Monday for opening depending on how 0:17:54.760 --> 0:18:00.439 things go tomorrow and Friday. But if we all member, 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:03.840 Monday is the first day of passover and one of 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:08.360 the members of the defense team is observant, so that 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:12.040 might mean either a shortened day or if someone on 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:15.840 the panel is observant, then it would be no trial 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:19.080 on Monday. So all of it's up in the air. Yes, 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:24.000 opening statements could happen on Monday, but it's really unclear. 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:27.120 We have to wait and see what transpires tomorrow and Friday. 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:29.800 So now let's talk about some of the motions before 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:34.479 jury selection started. So prosecutors asked the judge to find 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:38.399 Trump three thousand dollars for three social media posts. 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:43.360 That was the first thing that the prosecution did on Monday, 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:45.760 which is one of the reasons why jury selection was 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:49.280 so slow the entire morning session. Instead of picking the 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:54.159 jury with all on pre trial motions and asking for 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:58.640 clarification from Judge Mershaan on his prior ruling like, for example, 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:01.760 should be access, Ali would say can it be played 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:05.400 or can at least be quoted from? So what they 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:09.600 prosecution asked for is they felt that recent postings by 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:13.640 Donald Trump, including over the weekend, were in violation of 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:18.360 the judge's gag orders from April first, and they're asking 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:23.239 for Trump to be sanctioned for the three posting and 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:27.480 to be found in contempt of court. They also cited 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:33.160 one that posting that apparently the prosecutor said had been 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:39.600 posted from the courthouse Monday as a fourth example, but 0:19:39.680 --> 0:19:43.040 they weren't including that in their hopper of you know 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:47.360 in their basket of misbehavior by Trump, and they want 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:49.879 him to be fined one thousand dollars for each of 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:54.119 the three earlier social media postings. And they also wanted 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:56.880 Trump to be warned that if he continues to violate 0:19:57.200 --> 0:20:00.280 this gag order that he could be jailed. So the 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:02.639 judge is going to have a hearing and schedule that 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:03.600 for Tuesday. 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:07.320 The prosecutor in his statement to the jury said that 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:10.360 some witnesses have some edge, and he described them as 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:15.040 a tabloid publisher at adult film star in Trump's former lawyer, 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:19.439 Michael Cohen was convicted of federal crimes. Michael Cohen is 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:21.600 going to be the star witness, and there have been 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:25.320 arguments about his testimony already. 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:29.920 There were discussions about how much they can the limiting 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:33.120 of the defense and how much they can go after him. 0:20:33.960 --> 0:20:37.440 The judge basically said that it's fair game to raise 0:20:37.560 --> 0:20:42.720 the arguments about his guilty please, but he didn't want 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:45.400 to make it a mini trial of the federal case 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:48.800 against Michael Cohen and make it like Michael Cohen's trial 0:20:48.880 --> 0:20:52.199 rather than Donald Trump's trial. So they can raise the 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:56.040 background issue of Michael Cohen pleading guilty but they can't 0:20:56.119 --> 0:21:00.600 have a mini trial by the defense to basically reopen 0:21:00.760 --> 0:21:04.240 and relitigate what Michael Cohen played guilty in federal court. 0:21:05.000 --> 0:21:08.720 Trump wanted to be off to campaign in quotes on Wednesdays, 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:12.359 and he also wanted to be excused next week so 0:21:12.400 --> 0:21:15.760 he could attend the arguments before the Supreme Court on 0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:17.600 his presidential immunities. 0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:20.720 The judge was very stirred with him about that because 0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:25.080 his obligation, he said, is you have an obligation in 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:28.560 this court, not that court, and you're on trial here. 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:31.560 I mean, it was almost like he said, you don't 0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:35.280 belong in that Supreme Court. You belong in Manhattan Supreme 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:38.080 Court where you're on trial. And he wasn't going to 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:42.000 excuse him. He also wanted what was complaining and asked 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:46.359 Todd blanche, Trump's lead defense lawyer, that his son is 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:50.080 graduating from school. I believe he had a graduation to 0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:53.879 attend to, and so does mister Trump for Baron Trump, 0:21:54.440 --> 0:21:56.840 And the judge said, well, we'll cross that bridge. Will 0:21:56.840 --> 0:21:59.280 we get to it, but that's in me. One of 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:02.440 the funnier USA that happened during jury selection. One of 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:06.000 the potential jurors was a woman who said her friend 0:22:06.040 --> 0:22:08.560 was getting married in September and if she was picked 0:22:08.600 --> 0:22:11.760 for the jury, would that be a problem. Everyone roared 0:22:11.800 --> 0:22:13.960 with laughter, and the judge said, if this trial is 0:22:14.000 --> 0:22:16.480 still going on in September, we'll all have a problem. 0:22:16.520 --> 0:22:21.199 Basically, at least he can still show a sense of 0:22:21.280 --> 0:22:24.320 humor in the face of all this. It's going to 0:22:24.359 --> 0:22:27.679 be interesting to see whether they can finish the jury 0:22:27.720 --> 0:22:31.280 selection this week and get started sometime next week. Thanks 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:35.440 so much, pat That's Patricia Hurtado, Bloomberg Legal reporter. Coming 0:22:35.520 --> 0:22:37.720 up next on the Bloomberg Lawn Show, We're going to 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:41.200 be talking about a controversial spy law that the House 0:22:41.240 --> 0:22:45.760 has reauthorized. Will the Senate do the same? I'm June Gross. 0:22:45.800 --> 0:22:49.359 When you're listening to Bloomberg on this vote, the ya's 0:22:49.400 --> 0:22:52.240 are two seventy three, the na's are one forty seven. 0:22:52.600 --> 0:22:55.080 It's in the hands of the Senate now. The House 0:22:55.119 --> 0:22:58.720 of Representatives voted to reauthorize a key part of the 0:22:58.800 --> 0:23:02.879 Foreign Intelligence Serve Valence Act on Friday. The measure allows 0:23:02.880 --> 0:23:06.880 the federal government to eavesdrop without a warrant on foreigners 0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:12.640 in overseas investigations. The FBI Director warned of dire consequences 0:23:12.680 --> 0:23:16.080 if it's not renewed. But its critics were an unusual 0:23:16.240 --> 0:23:20.920 mix of right wing Republicans and Democrats focused on civil liberties, 0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:24.720 both concerned that it sweeps up the data of Americans. 0:23:25.119 --> 0:23:30.320 Here's Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio and Democratic Representative 0:23:30.440 --> 0:23:32.000 Jerry Nadler of New York. 0:23:32.480 --> 0:23:35.040 If they don't follow the exceptions, and they're searching Americans, 0:23:35.600 --> 0:23:38.760 searching your name, your phone number, your email, addressing this 0:23:38.840 --> 0:23:42.640 giant database, that's it's scarce. And if it's a small number, 0:23:42.800 --> 0:23:44.000 then what's the big deal. 0:23:46.040 --> 0:23:49.159 Officials are supposed to find it reasonably likely that a 0:23:49.240 --> 0:23:51.440 query will turn up evidence of a crime or foreign 0:23:51.440 --> 0:23:55.160 intelligence information, but that did not stop them from searching 0:23:55.160 --> 0:23:58.760 for protesters, politicians, and political donors, to name a few 0:23:59.320 --> 0:24:00.479