JUST IN: Donald Trump calls for Judge Merchan to be removed from NYC Alvin Bragg trial

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said, "This scam 'rushed' trial taking place in a 95% democrat area is a planned and coordinated witch hunt that could have been brought 8 years ago, but everybody passed."

"Instead they waited and brought it right in the middle of my presidential campaign against the worst and most incompetent president ever, crooked Joe Biden," the former president continued. "It is being presided over by possibly the most conflicted judge in judicial history, who must be removed from this hoax immediately."

"I did nothing wrong!" he added.

On Friday, the 12-person jury was finalized for the trial against the former president with the last of the alternates selected. Of those selected to serve on the jury seven of them were men, and five were women and their careers included a retiree, lawyers, teachers, engineers, and more.

Prior to the court session Friday, Trump called the trial "rigged." He said, "As you know, I’ve been saying for a long while this is a rigged trial, it’s coming from the White House."

"They have White House, DOJ people in the trial, in the DA’s office, representing the DA because he’s probably not smart enough to represent himself," the former president added. "This is a rigged case, and this is a case that was put in very strongly because of politics. So instead of being in Pennsylvania or Georgia or North Carolina or a lot of other places today, I’m sitting at a courthouse all day long."

Speaking about a gag order placed on him by Judge Merchan, Trump said, "People are allowed to speak about me and I have a gag order, just to show you how much more unfair it is." He noted that Judge Merchan "has a conflict, the worst I’ve ever seen, and it has to end with the judge."

"The gag order has to come off, I should be allowed to speak. Every time I come out to speak to you, I want to be open because we did absolutely nothing wrong."