Finding an impartial jury in the trial of the century is proving to be a challenge: The hush money case against Donald Trump entered this third day of jury selection.
It turns out that many potential jurors already have an opinion about the former president, while others are worried about their own safety and whether their identities would be publicly revealed even if they believe they can remain impartial in the case.
The third day of Trump’s hush money trial began with seven jurors seated, but two were dismissed throughout the day, reducing the number to five before more were added.
Dozens more potential jurors filed through the courtroom in lower Manhattan as the former president of the United States looked on. But many were excused after saying they could not remain impartial.
By the end of the day twelve jurors had been seated. Jury selection for alternates will continue on Friday.
Judge Juan Merchán said he is hopeful that opening statements can begin on Monday.
Former President Donald Trump expects Day 3 proceedings to begin in Manhattan Criminal Court on April 18, 2024
Here are the big takeaways:
Twelve jurors seated after two were dismissed
Juror number two was dismissed Thursday.
One of them was an oncology nurse who was selected to be the second member of the jury, but was removed after casting doubt on her ability to be fair and impartial.
The woman was arrested before the process began. She told the court: “I definitely have my concerns now.”
The woman said her friends and family “put pressure” on her, questioning her identity as a juror.
“I don’t think at this point I can be fair and impartial and not let outside influence affect my decision-making in the courtroom,” she said.
Merchan said she was “sorry” she had gone through that and was excused.
The fourth jury was also excused after prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said his team found that a man with the same name was arrested for tearing down political ads.
The arrest was not disclosed in the jury questionnaire.
Two substitute jurors were officially added to Trump’s panel, bringing the total to seven by late afternoon.
The next addition was a married engineer originally from California.
A second man, who follows former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen on Twitter and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, also landed a spot on the jury.
By late afternoon, all 12 jurors were seated for the case.
Two jurors were dismissed Thursday before the 12 jurors were seated.
Jury privacy is a major concern
Judge Merchan on Thursday addressed concerns about jury privacy as attorneys struggle to find a jury for the case.
Merchan said he agreed that it was important to obtain information about jurors’ potential employers, but he ordered that the information be redacted from the court record and ordered the press not to report those details.
“It’s become a problem,” Merchan said.
He also said the press should not report on jurors’ physical appearances that could be used to help identify them.
The directives came as one of the jurors on Thursday expressed concern about being publicly identified.
The woman said her friends, colleagues and family told her she had been identified as a potential juror and that she was worried.
She was one of the two jurors that the judge ended up dismissing.
Courtroom sketch of Trump sitting with his attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove during jury selection on the third day of his criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records over hush payments.
Dozens excused amid fight to find impartial jurors
The third day of the trial began with 96 new potential jurors entering the courtroom.
But 48 of those potential jurors were dismissed after saying they could not be fair or impartial.
Nine other jurors were excused for other reasons as prosecutors and lawyers work to form a jury of Trump’s peers.
Those who remained were questioned individually.
One prospective juror who is a paralegal said, “Yes, I’ll be impartial.” I will be very impartial in answer to the question whether she can let go of prejudices.
Another said she had read Trump’s “The Art of the Deal” decades earlier, but said “absolutely” when asked if she could decide the case based solely on the evidence and the law.
A man who grew up in Italy was excused after saying it would be a bit difficult to “maintain my impartiality and fairness” since the Italian media has a strong association with Trump.
But a lunch break gave more potential jurors time to consider whether they could truly be impartial.
A sketch of Trump paying close attention as jurors are questioned for his criminal trial on Thursday.
A lawyer for the jury said she feared she would not be able to let go of her prior knowledge and thoughts about the Trump cases.
‘I thought about this over lunch. “I think the fact that I spent a year arguing this case with a federal judge and law clerks, I’m afraid I know too much,” he said. ‘I don’t know if I can put that aside. “I’m worried that it will somehow leak.”
One said she disagreed with most of Trump’s policies, but said she had no personal opinion about him.
Another said she doesn’t like her “character” and how she “presents herself in public.”
“I don’t like some of my coworkers, but I’m not trying to sabotage their work,” he added.
Several potential jurors have read about Trump and others in the case.
The potential jurors who will appear in court in Manhattan on Thursday are very familiar with Donald Trump.
One potential juror said she had read Trump’s book “Art of the Deal” decades ago.
Another said he had read several of Trump’s books, including “Art of the Deal” and “How to be Rich.” But the man maintained that he could be a “fair and impartial juror.”
A third of Manhattan had also read ‘Art of the Deal.’
Potential jurors were also familiar with the expected witnesses in the case.
A woman said she had read the first ten pages of Michael Cohen’s book ‘Disloyal’ for work.
Another said he follows Cohen’s podcast and Trump on social media. He
trump seems absorbed at times, bored at others, but bites his tongue in court on day 3
Unlike the first two days of the trial, Trump did not speak to reporters when he arrived at the courthouse for the third day of his trial.
The former president entered the court with his lawyers around 9:15 a.m. Thursday. He said hello, but made no comments or answered questions.
During a break he also did not speak to journalists or answer questions.
At one point he raised his clenched fist toward the cameras.
When the prospective jurors arrived, Trump finally turned and faced them. As potential jurors filled the jury box throughout the day, Trump craned his neck to watch them.
Reporters watching said Trump seemed “absorbed” with potential jurors sitting in the jury box as they gave their answers to the questionnaire.
At other times he sat silently at the defense table looking ahead.
Trump raising his fist upon returning from a break at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 18
Prosecutors urge judge to hold Trump in contempt over posts
Prosecutors in the case added seven additional statements made by Trump for the contempt hearing that will take place next Tuesday.
Online posts from Trump’s Truth Social account and his campaign website attacked Michale Cohen.
The “most disturbing” was a claim in Truth Social that there were “covert liberal activists lying to the judge” to serve on the jury.
Prosecutors have already asked the court to fine Trump $3,000 for three previous violations, but said they were “considering our options” about what additional sanctions were warranted.
“We ask that you find the defendant in contempt,” said prosecutor Chris Conroy.
Judge Merchan said he would address it at Tuesday’s hearing.
Judge Juan M. Merchán has issued a gag order against Trump
It’s cold in Manhattan criminal court
On numerous occasions throughout the day, the temperature in the courtroom was the topic of conversation, but the judge refused to raise the temperature.
Trump joked to reporters: “Is it cold enough?” while he went out to lunch.
Earlier in the day, his lead attorney, Todd Blanche, approached Merchan and asked if he could make the courtroom warmer.
Merchan agreed that it was cold, but warned that turning up the heat would cause the temperature to rise.
Merchan later even apologized to potential jurors for the cold, but said “it’s one extreme or the other.”
Late in the afternoon, Trump could be heard telling an aide that “it’s really cold.”