Former Fox and NBC anchor Megyn Kelly has expressed her belief that former President Donald Trump will be convicted in the upcoming “hush money” trial involving alleged payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. During an interview with NewsNation host Dan Abrams, Kelly confidently stated that she has no doubt about Trump’s conviction, citing the jury’s potential bias against him due to Manhattan’s overwhelming support for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
The trial, set to begin on April 15, marks the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president. The charges against Trump allege that he covered up his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence regarding a sexual encounter she claimed to have had with him a decade earlier. Trump has consistently denied any such encounter and has sought to delay the trial to challenge a gag order in the case.
Associate Justice Cynthia Kern swiftly denied Trump’s second request for a delay, but a full panel of appeals judges will later consider his challenge to the gag order. Notably, potential jurors will not be directly asked about their political leanings but will be questioned about their affiliation with extremist groups such as QAnon, the Proud Boys, or Antifa. Other questions during jury selection will include inquiries about attendance at Trump campaign events or rallies and following Trump or any “anti-Trump group” on social media.
Kelly expressed her belief that the jury will be convinced that Trump made the payment to Daniels to silence her before the election, despite the absence of any written record explicitly stating “Hush money to Stormy Daniels.” Trump’s lawyers conducted a survey among Manhattan residents, which reportedly showed that 61% believed the former president was guilty, and 70% held a negative opinion of him.
