New York, USA – Seven jurors were selected on Tuesday for the panel that will determine former President Donald Trump’s guilt or innocence in the New York hush money case. The process of jury selection has already shown a challenging and contentious path ahead in forming a full jury for the trial.
Trump’s legal team scrutinized potential jurors’ social media activity to identify any anti-Trump bias, leading to questioning about their posts and requests for removal from the jury. This approach drew a sharp reprimand from Judge Juan Merchan, signaling a zero-tolerance policy towards any attempts to intimidate jurors.
Despite a dark courtroom on Wednesday as the trial unfolds, jury selection will resume with a new group of 96 prospective jurors on Thursday. The selection process has resulted in four men and three women being chosen for the jury, including a man from Ireland working in sales in New York City named as the jury foreperson.
Among the selected jurors, five have higher education backgrounds, including two lawyers. Most jurors acknowledged Trump’s other pending criminal cases, except for one individual. The jurors displayed neutral views on Trump and politics, paving the way for the trial to proceed without strong biases influencing their judgments.
Following the questioning of 18 potential jurors, Trump’s legal team sought to disqualify five jurors based on alleged anti-Trump social media content. The judge allowed the removal of two jurors, while Trump’s team used preemptory challenges to dismiss the remaining three selected jurors. This back-and-forth highlighted the meticulous jury selection process unfolding in the high-profile trial.
The judge reprimanded Trump for his conduct regarding a juror’s social media posts, underlining a ban on intimidating jurors in the courtroom. As the trial progresses, the judge has expanded a gag order to limit Trump’s public comments on the case to maintain fair proceedings.
As the court endeavors to conclude jury selection swiftly, the fluid court schedule emphasizes the anticipation of potential delays in the trial. The next phase involves questioning a new panel of 96 jurors to establish an impartial and conflict-free jury, with the aim of ultimately forming a complete jury of 12 individuals along with expected alternates.