Former US President Donald Trump is facing a criminal trial in New York. He is accused of having paid US$130,000 to a porn actress to buy her silence in the 2016 campaign.
The trial will begin early with the selection of the jury, a moment that in other cases usually appears as a mere procedure. The judge who will handle the most media case of the decade, Juan Merchan, has not hesitated when it comes to decreeing a gag order against Trump himself, writes Julian Zelizer. The former president had been playing with fire by attacking Loren Merchan on his Truth Social network, Zelizer says, and said that he was "a true and certified" hater of Trump and someone who suffers from a severe case of madness against him, he adds. The defense will rely on citizens from security forces such as the police and firefighters - where conservative sensitivities abound - and even cleaning workers, as well as people who have had some negative experience with the judicial system, he says.