Travis Gettys is a senior editor for Raw Story based in northern Kentucky. He previously worked as a web editor for WLWT-TV and a contributing writer for the Kentucky Enquirer, and he also wrote for the award-winning Sadly, No! blog. He has covered national, state and local politics, breaking news, criminal investigations and trials, sports and a variety of community issues, with a special emphasis on racial justice, right-wing extremism and gun safety.
Donald Trump wants to hear every question the judge asks prospective jurors in a highly unusual request from the start of his hush money trial.
The former president asked Judge Juan Merchan to allow him to stand beside the bench to listen in on one-on-one conversations with individuals who might be tasked with deciding on whether to convict Trump of falsifying business records to conceal payments that flowed to adult movie actress Stormy Daniels in an effort to cover up an affair,
CNN legal analyst Paula Reid said the request put his attorneys in a difficult spot.
"He's the client from hell, right?" Reid said. "He's a pain in the neck. I'm sure that his lawyers would prefer that he not be there, so that they will be free to make the legal arguments they need to make and not necessarily be performing for an audience of one."
Judges also hold sidebar conversations at the bench with attorneys so jurors are unable to hear as they work out legal issues related to the case, and Trump wants to be present for those, as well.
"Usually the sidebar conversations are issues that they want to resolve outside the presence of the jury or, in this case today, potential jurors," Reid said.
"So these are issues that are sensitive and may have to deal with some evidence that's being brought up, an objection that is made, and I'm told from my sources that we can expect throughout this case, there will likely be a lot of objections, a lot of sidebars, because the defense is, they are completely focused on preserving every possible issue for appeal."
