Trump’s trial has seven jurors
NEW YORK: The first seven jurors were selected yesterday to serve on Donald Trump’s hushmoney criminal trial, as the selection process continues to choose a panel of 12 members and six alternate.
The judge also warned lawyers that he would not tolerate any efforts to intimidate prospective jurors after saying Trump.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels has claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump about a decade beforehand.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies an encounter took place. He has called the case, brought by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a partisan ‘‘witch hunt’’.
The hush money case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faces, which also stem from trying to overturn his 2020 loss and alleged mishandling of classified information. He has also pleaded not guilty to those charges.
The seven jurors selected yesterday included a man originally from Ireland who watches both MSNBC and Fox News, a woman who works as an oncology nurse and enjoys taking her dog to the park, and a corporate lawyer who said he does not follow the news that closely. Jury selection began on Tuesday, and is set to resume tomorrow after a day off today. The process so far has highlighted the challenges of choosing impartial jurors from heavily Democratic Manhattan.
More than half the initial pool were dismissed on Monday after saying they did not believe they could be fair.
In questioning some yesterday, Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche said he did not care about jurors’ politics but whether they could be fair to Trump.
On Tuesday, prosecutors asked Merchan to fine Trump $US1000 ($NZ1693) for each of three social media posts that criticised Daniels and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer who is expected to be a prominent witness.