Who are the jurors chosen for Trump’s hush-money trial?
All 12 jurors in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial have finally been chosen after a lengthy selection process.
Opening statements could now be held as soon as Monday (Tuesday NZ time) in the case, in which the former president is charged with falsifying business records and attempting to conceal a hush-money payment made to Stormy Daniels, the former adult film star, in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.
The jury selection process was fraught and complicated.
Dozens of people were dismissed outright after they told Justice Juan Merchan, the judge, that they could not be impartial towards the former president.
After that, seven members were selected earlier this week, but yesterday two of them were excused after one raised concerns that they could be identified from media reports, while prosecutors suggested another member may have lied about a prior arrest.
Yesterday, seven more members were selected in rapid succession.
The 12 New Yorkers were picked from a group of 96 prospective jurors, who were presented with a series of screening questions that ranged from “Could you judge the defendant impartially?” to “Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones?”
For the first time in American history, a former president faces a criminal trial. The jury will decide whether he is guilty of the 34 felonies he is charged with.
So, who are the 12 people lined up for the task of finding the former, and possibly next, president guilty or not-guilty?
Juror No 1 will serve as the case’s foreman, meaning that he will act as the leader of the jury and speak for them. Ultimately, his job will be to deliver the verdict once the trial comes to a close.
The middle-aged salesman originally from Ireland currently lives in West Harlem and enjoys doing “anything outdoorsy”.
He reportedly gets his news from a spectrum of outlets including the New York Times, the Daily Mail, Fox News and MSNBC.
When asked if he was aware of Trump’s other criminal cases, he responded: “I’ve heard of some of them.”
Juror No 2 works in finance and lives in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City.
He follows Trump’s former fixer, Michael D Cohen, who is set to be a key witness, on social media.
He believed Trump had done some good for the US, adding “it goes both ways”.
Juror No 3 is a “young to middle-aged man” originally from Oregon but moved to New York five years ago. The unmarried man is a corporate lawyer who has worked at two prestigious New York law firms.
When asked about the case at hand, he suggested that he didn’t need to be a mind reader to determine Trump’s intent.
He admitted, however, that he was not very familiar with all the allegations against the former president, saying: “I am actually not super-familiar with the other charges. I don’t really follow the news that closely – a little embarrassing to say.”
In middle school, he is said to have enjoyed watching the US version of The Apprentice where Trump was the host for the first 14 seasons beginning in 2004.
He gets his news from The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Google.
The fourth juror is an engineer from the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
When asked how he was during the selection proceedings, he replied: “I am freezing.”
He had no strong feelings about Trump. Juror No 5 is a life-long New Yorker that lives in Harlem.
She is a “woman of colour” and said that she has friends with strong opinions about the former president but that she tries to avoid politics and isn’t very interested in the news.
The woman works as an
English teacher and has a master’s degree in education.
She lives with her brother, a basketball coach, and in her spare time enjoys theatre and writing.
Her mother and godfather have both worked in law enforcement and are retirees of the NYPD. She primarily gets her news from TikTok and Google.
Juror No 6 grew up in New York City and currently lives in Chelsea with three roommates. She is a software engineer who works for the Walt Disney Company and in her spare time enjoys plays, restaurants, dancing and watching TV.
The woman said that she would be “fair and impartial” in response to whether Trump’s candidacy for president would impact her ability to serve as a fair juror.
She gets her news from The New York Times and TikTok.
Juror No 7 is a middle-aged man who lives on the Upper East Side as a civil litigator. Married with children, he enjoys spending time outside with his kids and said that he has “political views as to the Trump presidency”.
While he thinks there were probably Trump administration policies he disagrees with, he doesn’t have “opinions about him personally”. “I certainly follow the news. I’m aware there are other lawsuits out there”, he said. “But I’m not sure that I know anyone’s character”.
He gets his news from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, New York Post and the Washington Post.
The eighth juror lives in the Upper East Side and formerly worked in finance. He said he gets his news from the Wall Street Journal, the BBC and the New York Times. He told the court he had no opinions or beliefs that would prevent him from being impartial.
Juror number nine is the second juror to work in education. She lives in the Upper East Side and said of Trump: “He was our president. Everyone knows who he is.”
Juror No 10 works in business and lives in Murray Hill. He said he does not follow the news but said if he does read newspapers it would be the New York Times.
He also said he does not have a strong opinion on Trump.
Juror 11, a product manager, lives in Upper Manhattan.
Asked about Trump, she told the court: “I don’t like his persona, how he presents himself in public.”
She drew laughter from the jury box when she said: “I don’t like some of my co-workers, but I don’t try to sabotage their work.”
Judge Juan Merchan asked her to repeat herself for the record, which she did.
“He seems very selfish and self-serving. I don’t really appreciate that from any public servant. It’s not not my cup of tea.”
Trump’s defence lawyer Susan Necheles said: “It sounds a a bit like what you’re saying is you don’t like him.”
“Yes,” the juror responded.
Juror No 12 works in healthcare as a physical therapist and also lives in the Upper East Side.
She likes live music and listens to religious podcasts. –