The jury is in Who are the first seven jurors in the trial against Donald Trump?
The first seven jurors for Donald Trump’s hushmoney trial were seated on Tuesday after lawyers grilled the jury pool to decide who can sit in fair judgment of the former president. Eleven more people still must be sworn in before opening statements begin as early as next week. The seven from Manhattan were selected 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?” Dozens of people were dismissed outright when they told Justice Juan Merchan that they could not be impartial towards the former president. The jury will decide whether he is guilty of the 34 felonies he is charged with. Charges against him include falsifying business records and attempting to conceal a hushmoney payment made to Stormy Daniels, the former adult film star, in the run up to the 2016 election. So, who are the seven currently lined up for the task of finding the former, and possibly next, president guilty or not-guilty?
Juror 1 (#B400)
Juror number one 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 middleaged 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. Asked if he was aware of Trump’s other criminal cases, he said : “I’ve heard of some of them.”
Juror 2 (#B280)
A native New Yorker, juror number two lives on the Upper East Side with her fiancé and her dog. She works as an oncology nurse at a major New York hospital and enjoys going for walks in the park. She said she gets her news from The New York Times, CNN, Google and Facebook and when asked about her opinion of Mr Trump, she said: “I don’t really have one. No one is above the law.”
Juror 3 (#B380)
Juror number three is a “young to middle-aged man” originally from Oregon but moved to New York five years ago. The man, who is unmarried, is a corporate lawyer who has worked at two prestigious New York firms. Asked about the case, he suggested that he didn’t need to be a mind reader to determine Mr Trump’s intent. However, he said: “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 Mr 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.
Juror 4 (#B89)
Juror number four is originally from Puerto Rico but has lived on the Lower East Side for the past 40 years. The self-employed IT consultant described Mr Trump as “fascinating and mysterious”, adding: “He walks into a room and he sets people off one way or another. I find that really interesting. Really, this one guy can do all of this. ‘Wow,’ that’s what I think.” The man says that he has no time for hobbies and that he has been married “for a long time” and has two grandchildren. He previously served on a jury trial in a civil case but could not remember the verdict. He gets his news from The Daily News, The New York Times and Google.
Juror 5 (#B374)
Juror number five is a life-long New Yorker who 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 is not very interested in the news. She works as an English teacher and has a master’s degree in education. She lives with her brother and in her spare time enjoys theatre and writing. Her mother and godfather are retirees of the NYPD. She primarily gets her news from Tiktok and Google.
Juror 6 (#B297)
Juror number six grew up in New York City and currently lives in Chelsea with three room-mates. 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 Mr 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 7 (#B269)
Juror number seven is a middleaged man who lives on the Upper East Side as a civil litigator. Married with children, he enjoys spending time 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 I know anyone’s character.” He gets his news from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.