Tuesday Briefing: Donald Trump’s trial begins
Good morning. We’re covering the first day of Donald Trump’s trial and the ongoing fallout from Iran’s attack on Israel. Plus, Salman Rushdie’s new memoir.
Donald Trump’s trial beginsJury selection began yesterday in New York City, where Donald Trump faces charges that he falsified business records to cover up a sex scandal while serving as president. It is the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president, and the first of four indictments that Trump faces in the coming months. The initial pool of prospective jurors dwindled rapidly. More than half of the first group of 96 were dismissed in short order after indicating that they did not believe they could be impartial. As Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors hashed out pretrial motions, the former U.S. president seemed alternately irritated and exhausted. He smirked and scoffed, and also seemed to nod off a few times before jolting back awake. Last month, the judge imposed a gag order on Trump, barring him from attacking witnesses in the case. But over the weekend, Trump assailed a key witness — his former fixer, Michael Cohen — on social media. The judge said he would hold a hearing later this month to discuss potential violations of the gag order, which also bars Trump from attacking the judge’s family. What’s next: Jury selection could take two weeks or more, and the trial may spill into June. Background: In 2016, Cohen paid $130,000 to the porn star Stormy Daniels, to buy her silence about a story of having had sex with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the encounter.
World leaders urge Israeli restraintIsrael is facing growing international pressure not to retaliate against Iran for its missile and drone attack over the weekend, even as some right-wing lawmakers pushed for an aggressive response. The war cabinet met again yesterday, but there was no immediate indication of what, if anything, it had decided. But rather than preparing the public for a showdown with its archrival, the Israeli government signaled a return to relative normalcy, lifting restrictions on large gatherings and allowing schools to reopen. Many Arab countries also urged de-escalation. They fear that clashes could have broader effects than those during past Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, or those involving groups in Lebanon or Syria. Unlike previous conflicts, this one keeps expanding, suggesting that the clashes are getting harder to contain. Analysis: Iran’s barrage was more of a highly choreographed spectacle than an effort to inflict serious damage on Israel, experts said.
One year of war in SudanThe war between two military factions in Sudan, which has now been going on for a year, has created one of the largest waves of displaced people in the world. About 8.6 million have been forced from their home by the fighting, which has also led to massacres and atrocities. More than a third of Sudan’s 48 million people are also facing catastrophic levels of hunger, the U.N. said. What’s next: The continued clashes between the two rival generals’ competing flanks — the army and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces — have dashed hopes that Sudan will usher in civilian rule anytime soon. |
