Dispute over juror’s news source revealed after verdict for Carroll
Man said he got information from extreme podcast
‘He is biased in ways requiring his dismissal from the jury.’
LAWYERS FOR E. JEAN CARROLL In motion to dismiss Juror 77
Court papers unsealed Wednesday revealed a bitter behind-the-scenes dispute, during the trial of the lawsuit accusing former president Donald Trump of a sexual attack, over whether to dismiss a juror who said he got his news from an extreme right-wing podcaster.
The juror, a 31-year-old man who said he had lived in the Bronx all his life, said during jury selection on April 25 that he tended to avoid news, but listened to “independent” podcasts “every now and then” and listed one example.
The original transcription inaccurately captured the title as “Temple.” But lawyers for writer E. Jean Carroll, who filed the lawsuit, later learned that the anonymous juror, identified only as Juror 77, had actually said he listened to Tim Pool.
Pool’s YouTube channel includes dozens of recordings that push hard-right views. His podcast, which has been criticized as a vector for conspiracy theories, is called “The Culture War.”
Lawyers for Carroll asked the court to question the juror further. During that questioning, Juror 77 confirmed that he had said he listened to the Tim Pool podcast.
When asked what kind of podcast it was, the juror said that Pool “is like middle,” adding that Pool “gets different political figures from the right” and also those “on the left.” Juror 77 also described the podcast as “balanced.”
After the juror left, a lawyer for Carroll said that the juror listened to a “really virulent extremist podcast,” adding that “obviously, had we known, we would have struck him if we heard him correctly.”
A lawyer for Trump disagreed, noting that the juror was being “incredibly candid and honest,” adding that “I just don’t think there is anything on this record that would cause us to remove him during trial.”
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan told Carroll’s lawyers that they could file a motion, which they did on April 30, after the trial’s first week. “He is biased in ways requiring his dismissal from the jury,” the lawyers wrote.
Ultimately, the judge allowed the juror to stay. The papers unsealed Wednesday did not include his rationale.
On Tuesday, the jury in a unanimous decision found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. The panel did not find him liable for the more serious offense of rape.