Trump angrily denies falling asleep in court as day two of historic hush money trial gets underway: Latest

As we’ve just heard, more than half of the original 96-strong pool of Manhattanites considered as potential jurors were dismissed yesterday after saying they could not promise to remain fair and impartial when asked to consider the case against Trump, perhaps as polarising a politician as there has ever been anywhere.

Here’s Gustaf Kilander with a look at the questionnaire the prospective jurors are being asked to complete.

When he entered a Manhattan courthouse for the first day of his first criminal trial, Trump’s Truth Social account fired off more than a dozen posts slamming the case and attacking the witnesses expected to testify against him.

He staged an impromptu press conference in the hallway outside the doors of the courtroom, turning to a group of cameras to blast the proceedings as “an assault on America”. When he left for the day, he called it a “political witch hunt”.

Inside, beforeThe People of New York v Donald J Trump got under way, he sat by himself for a moment, clasped his fingers together, and stared at the empty bench before him. He would later slouch down in the red chair at the defence table beside his attorneys, with the shoulders of his navy suit jacket bunched around him as he appeared to doze off.

Even as the judge was reading instructions to the group of men and women who could decide whether he’s running for office as a convicted felon, Trump appeared to nod off, prompting a wave of “Sleepy Don” and “Don Snorleone” memes on social media.

Moments later, more than half of those prospective jurors were excused from the case after telling the judge that they could not deliver a fair and impartial verdict against the former president.

Here’s more from Alex Woodward on an inauspicious start for the Republican presidential contender, who could be in for a rough couple of weeks if Monday was anything to go by.

Day one of yesterday’s historic criminal trial in New York ended on a nicely absurd note with Trump’s campaign having to furiously deny that the former president fell asleep in court, blasting the claims as “100 per cent fake news”.

According to reporters present in the courtroom on Monday, Trump appeared at times to be struggling to keep his eyes open, with some going so far as to claim that he had actually fallen asleep.

The observation quickly prompted an onslaught of nicknames and jokes on social media.

The major news networks also had some fun with it.

But in a statement shared with The Independent following the conclusion of proceedings, the campaign said: “This is 100% Fake News coming from ‘journalists’ who weren’t even in the court room.”

Here’s more from Mike Bedigan.

Unsurprisingly, Your Favourite President has been moaning about the hush money on Truth Social again overnight, moving on from complaining about missing Barron’s high to graduation ceremony to whining that he will also be forced to miss the Supreme Court’s hearing on his dubious “presidential immunity” defence on Thursday 25 April.

Elsewhere, he’s been posting favourable Fox coverage from yesterday, attempting to fundraise off his legal “persecution” and, er, wishing Americans a “Happy Tax Day”.

Ho ho ho, what will you be asking Janet Yellen for this year little boy?

The payment was allegedly made amid the 2016 presidential election to try and silence her over an extramarital affair Daniels alleges she had with the former president more trhan a decade .

The former president is required to be at the trial every day, as New York state law makes it a necessity for defendants to be personally present during the trial.

Donald Trump is the first American president to face a criminal trial now that the New York “hush money” case against him has finally begun.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee for 2024 stands accused by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg of falsifying his business records, a felony in New York state, in order to allegedly conceal a secret payment made to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign to ensure her silence over an extramarital affair she alleges she had with the businessman a decade earlier.

Mr Trump denies the affair and any wrongdoing in the case after being hit with 34 felony charges by Mr Bragg a little over a year ago.

Io Dodds explains how Stormy Daniels and the hush money paid to her before the 2016 election landed her in the middle of a political firestorm that could take down a former president.

Donald Trump has lashed out at President Joe Biden in a Truth Social video accusing the president of being a “criminal” after he failed to delay an imminent criminal trial in Manhattan.

The former president faces 88 felony counts across four state and federal prosecutions as he campaigns for a return to the White House. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.

According to court reporters present in the courtroom on Monday, Mr Trump appeared at times to be struggling to keep his eyes open, with some going so far as to claim that he had actually fallen asleep.

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