Twelve New Yorkers have been chosen to serve on the jury in former President Donald Trump’s felon trial in Manhattan, completing the panel on the third day of the proceedings.
The 12 jurors consist of seven men and five women, selected from a pool of dozens of potential jurors who were asked questions about their private lives and political views. The selection procedure will continue on Friday, as six exchange jurors are needed before the trial can move on to opening arguments. A replacement was decided on Thursday afternoon.
“We have our jury,” Judge Juan Merchan said after the new jurors were sworn in on the case in a “fair and independent manner. “Trump, seated at the defense table, watched the newly sworn in members as they left the courtroom.
Mercan said the court was prepared to begin opening statements on Monday. Prosecutors will present their case first.
Before the day ended, Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, asked if the defense would be able to learn the names of the first three witnesses prosecutors planned to call to the stand. Joshua Steinglass, U. S. Attorney for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Alvin Bragg, responded that this was a courtesy they give, but in this case he refused.
“Mr. Trump tweeted about the witnesses. We don’t tell them who the witnesses are,” Steinglass said.
Mercan said, “I can’t blame them. ” Blanche seemed speechless and asked if the defense wouldn’t find out who the witnesses were until they walked through the door. He showed up to “make a commitment to the court and to the court. “prosecution that President Trump will not release any information about any witnesses” on Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform.
“I don’t think you can make that claim,” Merchan said.
Blanche proposed a solution: give the names of witnesses only to lawyers, who didn’t need to share them with Trump.
“I’m not going to order them to do that, no,” Merchan said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. “
Setbacks earlier in the day threatened to derail Merchan’s plans to temporarily finalize jury composition and move on to opening statements. Two jurors who had decided the previous week were excused, and a woman was added who expressed considerations about her public identity and her ability to remain impartial.
The woman said her friends and family asked her if she was a juror based on media reports. She said she “definitely has concerns now. “
“Aspects of my identity have already been made public. Just yesterday, friends and family harassed me,” he told the court on Thursday. “I don’t think, at this point, I can be fair and impartial. “
Merchan promptly chided the press for reporting what he considered too much information about jurors. He ordered that questions about potential employers of jurors now be removed from the court docket and ordered reporters not to mention the jurors’ physical appearance.
Prosecutors also raised concerns about the No. 4 jury, saying they exposed information about a user who shared their call and who had been arrested and potentially involved in a corruption investigation in the 1990s. The man arrived at the courthouse and was briefly questioned by the lawyers. in front of the judge, outside the diversity of the court’s microphones. Merchan eventually fired the guy.
The two excused jurors were replaced later that afternoon when a new cohort of 96 Manhattans filled the courtroom. Half of the new organization – 48 – said they might not be independent and were immediately excused. Nine other people were fired for other reasons, which were not disclosed. Those who stayed were subjected to a 42-question assessment to find out how they felt about Trump and his ability to reach the final results of the first criminal trial of a former president in U. S. history.
Some have clashed through Trump’s lawyers with social media posts dating back years before they were excused. One woman saw articles she had written years earlier and added one in which she called Trump a “racist, sexist narcissist. “The woman felt embarrassed and apologized, saying that she didn’t write the messages and that her criticisms had softened over the past few years. She was eventually fired.
Trump pleaded not guilty when he charged him more than a year ago with 34 counts of falsifying business records. He denies all allegations in the case, which revolves around reimbursing former lawyer Michael Cohen for a payment of “hush money” to an adult film star. Prosecutors say Trump concealed the refunds to distance himself from the payment, which, days before the 2016 presidential election, temporarily bought Daniels’ silence about an alleged affair. He also denied having had the affair.
Trump lashed out at the case, accusing prosecutors of politically motivating him. He also lashed out at the ruling on social media, accusing Merchan of bias.
“I intend to be in New Hampshire. I intend to be in North Carolina, South Carolina,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said in the hallway outside the courtroom. I intend to move on to many other places to campaign. But I’ve been here all day for a trial that’s very unfair. “