Donald Trump's Historic Hush Money Trial Has Officially Begun

Last-minute efforts to delay the trial were denied, forcing the former president to accept the harsh reality that only 12 jurors and a judge stand between him and prison

Donald Trump's hush money trial is kicking off with jury selection, as Manhattan prosecutors prepare to argue the first-ever criminal case against a United States president.

On Monday, April 15, several hundred randomly selected New Yorkers are reporting for jury duty in lower Manhattan, where an exhaustive vetting process will leave the court with 12 jurors entrusted to decide whether Trump's claim of an overreaching indictment carries any validity.

Related: Would You Make It onto Donald Trump’s Jury? Experts Identify the Ideal Juror — and What They’ll Be Asked

Finding a dozen impartial jurors (and six alternates) in an inflammatory case like Trump's could take more than two weeks, depending on how quickly Judge Juan Merchan moves the process along. When the jury panel is finalized, opening arguments will begin, kicking off one of the highest-profile legal sagas in history.

Related: Ari Melber Previews What's at Stake in Donald Trump's Hush Money Trial — and How He'll Defend Himself (Exclusive)

The Manhattan district attorney's case against Trump centers around 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

In the final weeks of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Prosecutors have accused Trump of reimbursing Cohen in multiple installments and falsely labeling them as payment for "legal services" in an attempt to conceal their true nature.

Though falsifying business records is usually a misdemeanor, it can be classified as a felony in New York when there is an "intent to defraud." Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg will aim to prove to the jury that in mislabeling his payments to Cohen, Trump was attempting to hide a larger scheme to unlawfully influence the presidential election.

Related: The Biggest Bombshells from the Donald Trump Indictment, from Hush Money Payments to 'Friends in High Places'

The hush money trial is expected to last at least six weeks from the time jury selection is completed. If jurors ultimately side with Bragg that Trump not only falsified business records, but did it with an intent to defraud, the former president could face up to four years in prison for each individual count.

In the event of a felony conviction, Judge Merchan wouldn't necessarily give Trump the maximum sentence. And even if Trump did end up receiving prison time, he would be allowed to remain on the presidential ballot in November.

Related: All About Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's Attorney in Ongoing Criminal Cases

Though it's never been tested before, legal scholars believe that if Trump won the election from prison, he would be able to postpone the remainder of his sentence — and potentially pardon himself — so that he could fulfill his White House duties.

While it wouldn't disqualify Trump from the presidency, a conviction in the hush money case could still hold weight. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in April, roughly one-quarter of Republican respondents stated that they would not vote for Trump if a jury deems him guilty of committing a felony.

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Trump faces felony charges in three additional criminal cases, two of which are at the federal level. Trial dates in those cases have not yet been set, though six in 10 Americans who were polled by Reuters/Ipsos said they would like to see verdicts reached before filling out their ballot in November.

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