Attorneys for former President Donald Trump appeared in court Tuesday.

For the second time this week, an appeals judge denied Trump’s attempt to have his upcoming Manhattan trial delayed.

“They want to do this during the election. This is election interference. That’s all it is,” former President Donald Trump said.

What You Need To Know

  • In multiple last-ditch efforts, former President Donald Trump has tried to delay the start of his first criminal trial

  • The state appeals court has blocked his delay attempts

  • Jury selection is on track to begin Monday in the hush money case

Charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, jury selection in Trump’s first criminal prosecution will begin Monday morning.

In an interview with NY1, Criminal Defense Attorney Arthur Aidala explained, “I always say jury selection is the most important part of a trial.”

Aidala has been a criminal defense attorney for several high-profile cases. He believes selecting a jury could take as long as a week.

“It’s going to be very hard to find people who have never heard of President Trump or never heard of this case. But, then you need to little dig a little deeper,” he said.

The judge overseeing the case released the list of 42 questions he might ask potential jurors. Potential jurors will be asked if they’ve been a supporter of groups like The Proud Boys or Antifa, and if they’ve attended a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump.

They’ll also be asked about the news networks they get information from and if they’ll hold strong views on whether a former president may be criminally charged in state court.

“What Donald Trump’s lawyers have to watch out for is - the jury pool comes from the voter logs, and Donald Trump didn’t do very well in the presidential voting in Manhattan in either time that he ran,” Aidala explained.

Selected jurors will be expected to set aside past knowledge of the case to focus on the facts presented at trial. Twelve jurors and six alternates will be chosen for the case that’s expected to draw global media attention.

“The judge will constantly instruct the jurors who are selected to stay away from all types of media. But it’s so hard because it’s everywhere,” Aidala said.