Jurors can stay, despite Trump dislike
Judge says no to jury pool dismissal request in trial related to foreign lobbying
A Brooklyn judge will allow people who have “some dislike” of former President Donald Trump to serve as jurors at the upcoming trial of his former associate Thomas Barrack, according to a ruling released on Friday.
Judge Brian Cogan’s order comes after the billionaire real estate investor, who’s charged with alleged foreign lobbying efforts, asked him to dismiss more than 70 percent of the jury pool for a host of reasons that included hating Trump.
“If a prospective juror evidenced, for example, merely some dislike of former President Donald Trump, and otherwise indicated that he could be fair and impartial, striking for cause is not appropriate, particularly at this stage,” wrote Cogan.
Cogan’s ruling means the prospective jurors who identified Trump as their least favorite public figure in home-delivered questionnaires will be called back for the next round of jury duty, but may not end up on the panel.
One person who Barrack’s lawyers wanted to strike from the pool said they despised Trump “for embarrassing our country & trying to steal an election,” according to filings.
Another described his “selfcentered and hatred-filled and childish leadership” in their questionnaire.
“Self-serving, dangerous, entitled enabler of hatred and division,” wrote another wouldbe juror when asked about their feelings on Trump.
Prosecutors say Barrack tried to illegally influence public opinion and the Trump campaign’s foreign policy positions on behalf of high-ranking officials in the United Arab Emirates.
In doing so, Barrack was tasked with developing plans to increase the country’s political influence stateside by promoting its foreign policy preferences, the feds charge.
Barrack established himself as the key communications channel between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and the UAE and served as Trump’s inaugural committee chairman, according to the indictment against him.
The feds say Barrack agreed to leak nonpublic information to foreign agent Rashid al-malik Alshahhi. They have also accused him of lying during a 2019 meeting with FBI special agents about his illegal communications.
Alshahhi lauded the billionaire Barrack for influencing one May 2016 speech, in which then-candidate Trump pledged to “work with our Gulf allies.”
“Amazing,” Alshahhi told Barrack afterward, noting Trump “mentioned the Gulf allies which is great,” according to court filings.
Barrack maintains his innocence. His trial begins Sept. 19.