Trump judge to decide if jury should hear about E. Jean Carroll case as opening statements in the hush money trial are set for Monday

Donald Trump's $355million fraud fine and the E. Jean Carroll defamation verdict should be brought up in his historic hush money trial, prosecutors argued on Friday at the end of a blockbuster first week.

The former president's lawyers hit back at suggestions from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office that the past cases were relevant because they are ‘immoral, vicious, illegal or bad acts’.

Prosecutors also offered to reveal the name of their first witness to the defense off Sunday if they didn't tell Trump and stop the identity being 'tweeted'. 

The argument closed out a dramatic day where Trump watched prospective jurors break down in tears and claim they were too stressed to serve as the court seated a full jury for opening statements on Monday.

The 77-year-old turned and watched as a woman revealed to the court she was an ex-convict and a drug addict who served time in prison.

Donald Trump 's $355million fraud fine and the E. Jean Carroll defamation verdict should be brought up in his historic hush money trial, prosecutors argued on Friday at the end of a blockbuster first week

He also jolted upright when another man said he once volunteered for Clinton and had is interest piqued by a woman who said her father was friends with former presidential candidate Chris Christie.

Horrifying scenes also played out outside the courtroom as a man set himself on fire in a park across the street. 

As he walked out of the courtroom Trump accused the judge of wanting the case to go 'as fast as possible'.

He called the case a 'giant witch hunt' and also slammed New York General Letitia James over the fraud case where he was fined $355million. 

The 77-year-old turned and watched as a woman revealed to the court she was an ex-convict and a drug addict who served time in prison

The full jury has been set in the Trump trial. Twelve Manhattan residents will decide if he is guilty or not guilty and six alternates will be backup 

Trump's aide Margo Martin leaves court at the end of the fourth day of the trial 

'The trial starts on Monday, which is long before a lot of people thought. The judge wants this to go as fast as possible. That’s for his reasons, not for my reasons.'

He then left the downtown Manhattan court and will head to North Carolina on Saturday evening for a campaign rally.

The full jury - 12 seated members and six alternates - were chosen just after 2pm on Wednesday.

Then the lawyers returned to the courtroom to argue over what evidence should be allowed in the case in a so-called Sandoval Hearing.

Judge Juan Merchan snapped at Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove and told him to sit down.

The moment came after the prosecution requested the phone records of Michael Cohen be sealed so they wouldn’t reveal personal information of people with nothing to do with the case.

Judge Merchan said the idea of forcing prosecutors to redact all the filings was ‘absurd’.

Arguments closed out a dramatic day where Trump watched prospective jurors break down in tears and claim they were too stressed to serve as the court seated a full jury for opening statements on Monday

As he walked out of the courtroom Trump accused the judge of wanting the case to go 'as fast as possible'

He told Bove: ‘Don’t interrupt me’.

Bove protested: ‘I’m not interrupting you’.

Judge Merchan said: ‘Oh you are, have a seat’.

Judge Merchan signed the order sealing the records.

The first issue in the Sandoval hearing was the prosecution request to cross examine Trump about the $364 million finding against Trump by a New York judge in his fraud trial earlier this year.

Bove said that the verdict was on appeal and that Trump ‘would have to respond’ which would take the trial down a ‘rabbit hole’.

Judge Merchan appeared skeptical and said that it was usual practice for a defendant to be asked about previous legal action and they could respond while being cross examined.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said that it should be allowed.

He said: ‘It’s hard to think of something that is more squarely in the wheelhouse of appropriate impeachment examination as to his credibility than a finding by a judge of fraud and illegality by a judge in the state of New York.'.

The next issue were contempt findings from Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over the fraud trial, that Trump breached his gag order barring him from talking about witnesses or his staff.

Bove argued there was a ‘significant risk of confusion’ for the jury if these were introduced.

Colangelo countered that these findings were relevant because they were evidence of ‘immoral, vicious, illegal or bad acts’ outside of the indicted conduct.

He said that it was difficult to find something more probative than Judge Engoron saying, after calling Trump into the witness box and asking him to testify about breaching his order, that the ‘defendant's testimony rings hollow and untrue’.

Trump’s lawyers also objected to the prospect of Trump being cross examined over the two defamation verdicts in civil cases brought against him by the journalist E. Jean Carroll.

She won an $83.3 million judgment against Trump earlier this year, after already winning $5m when a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting her in the mid 1990s.

Trump called the case a 'giant witch hunt' and also slammed New York General Letitia James over the fraud case where he was fined $355million

The former president's lawyers hit back at suggestions from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office that the past cases were relevant because they are ‘immoral, vicious, illegal or bad acts’

Prosecutors were also seeking to question Trump about his real estate empire being found guilty of tax fraud and falsifying business records in 2022

Bove called the case ‘unacceptable as a basis for impeachment’ and said that it ‘pushes the salacious on another level’

Colangelo said that the fact Trump was found liable for defamation with actual malice was ‘critical evidence in assessing the defendant’s credibility’

The court then turned to the lawsuit filed by Trump against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and others for racketeering in a conspiracy against him.

The case was dismissed by Florida federal judge Donald Middlebrooks last year who ordered $1m in sanctions against Trump’s lawyers.

Trump’s lawyers also objected to the prospect of Trump being cross examined over the two defamation verdicts in civil cases brought against him by the journalist E. Jean Carroll

The judge said in a scathing ruling: ‘We are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose.

‘Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries. He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process. He knew full well the impact of his actions’

Bove tried to argue it was ‘so far afield’ from the conduct in the hush money case.

But Judge Mercan appeared skeptical and said it seemed ‘squarely’ within the relevant law.

Colangelo agreed and said that in a case where ‘credibility will be core’, this was a highly relevant matter.

Prosecutors were also seeking to question Trump about his real estate empire being found guilty of tax fraud and falsifying business records in 2022.

They also sought to be able to cross-examine Trump on being ordered in 2019 to pay $2 million for misuse of funds for The Trump Foundation, his charitable organization.

Trump’s lawyers objected to both.

Judge Merchan said he would reverse his final ruling on the evidence, and it would be revealed by Monday.