McGee said he told the court he could serve as a juror impartially, though he noted in his comment to the media that it would be “very difficult for anyone in this country not to get to this point without warning. “
“We all have prior reviews on defendants, unless we live in a box,” he said. McGee said he recused himself from the jury because of scheduling conflicts with his cybersecurity work.
“I’m not a fanatic,” McGee added of her private opinion of Trump. “During COVID-19, I lived with someone who was immunocompromised and I think their handling of COVID-19 was catastrophic,” she said.
LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL ENTERS DAY TWO AS JURY SELECTION CONTINUES
Kara McGee speaks to the media outdoors at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. McGee was excused from serving on the jury in the criminal trial opposing former President Donald Trump because of his work in cybersecurity and being unable to take that much time off from work. (Probe-Media for Fox News Digital)
The trial began Monday with a field of 96 jurors, before about 50 of them were excused on the first day for saying they might not be independent in the case. Nine others were eliminated Monday for other reasons. About 35 applicants remained as of Tuesday morning, 14 of whom were excused by early Tuesday afternoon.
TRUMP KICKS OFF SECOND DAY OF HUSH MONEY TRIAL, DIRECTING WAX TO JUDGE ‘CONFLICT’: ‘TRUMP-HAATING’
McGee said two of the questions asked jurors made his idea of Trump and the case clearer.
“One of them is: Do you have any perspective on the option of a former sitting president being tried in court?I think the way other people have responded shows how they feel about the case,” he said.
PRESIDING JUDGE IN TRUMP HUSH MONEY CASE REFUSES TO REUSE
“The other question: Do you have any revisions on the legal limits on campaign finance donation amounts?I think it’s another question that aims to measure emotions in a specific case,” he said.
McGee said he looked Trump in the eye as he excused himself from the trial.
“I looked at him after I finished giving my final answer. . . I gave him another look and looked him in the eye, and I have no idea what I was thinking at the time,” she said of her interaction with Trump.
A courtroom comic strip shows the second day of former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The jury meeting for the alleged hush money case continues. (Christine Cornell)
Tuesday is the second day of the trial in the money secrecy case, which marks the first time a former president has been tried on criminal charges.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced last year that Trump was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The fees stem from the 2016 election cycle, when Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to former porn actor Stormy Daniels to allegedly hush up his allegations that he had an extramarital affair with Trump in 2006.
Kara McGee speaks to the media outdoors at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. McGee was excused from serving on the jury in the criminal trial opposing former President Donald Trump because of his work in cybersecurity and being unable to take that much time off from work. (Probe-Media for Fox News Digital)
Trump calls Hush Money trial ‘an assault on America’ as case officially begins
Prosecutors say the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen for the payment to Daniels and falsely recorded the bills as legal fees. Prosecutors are running to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony.
Trump has denied the case and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Trump addressed the media the previous Tuesday morning, in front of the courtroom, where he denounced Chief Justice Juan Merchan, calling him a “conflicted” judge.
TRUMP TRIAL: JURY SELECTION RESUMES AFTER PROSPECTIVE JURORS EXCUSED FOR SAYING THEY CAN’T BE IMPARTIAL
Courthouse comic strip showing former President Donald Trump in front of Manhattan Criminal Court in front of Judge Juan Merchan on Monday, April 15, 2024. Trump faces fees stemming from so-called “silent money” bills made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels upstream in the 2016 presidential election. (Christine Cornell)
“We have a judgment on who hates Trump. He is completely conflicted. But this is a trial that never took place. It’s been rejected a long time ago,” Trump said Tuesday morning.
Former U. S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, U. S. , Monday, April 15, 2024. The jury takes its position Monday in Trump’s criminal trial, where he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence allegations of extramarital sex in his 2016 presidential campaign. (Michael Nagle/New York Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“This is a process that is being observed and practiced all over the world. . . They practice it, they analyze it. All the legal experts, all the jurists have said that this process is a disgrace,” he added.
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The trial is expected to last at least six weeks and the jury variety is expected to last at least a week.