*UPDATE* We have a jury:
A jury of 12 people was seated Thursday in former President Donald Trump’s history-making hush money trial, propelling the proceedings closer to opening statements and the start of weeks of dramatic testimony.The court quickly turned to selecting alternate jurors, with the process on track to wrap up by the end of the week. Prosecutors could begin presenting their case early next week.The jury of Manhattanites includes a sales professional, a software engineer, a security engineer, a teacher, a speech therapist, multiple lawyers, an investment banker and a retired wealth manager.
Previous reporting…
Former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial is in jeopardy after Judge Juan Merchan excused two jurors on Thursday.
The court swore in seven jurors on Tuesday.
Merchan excused Juror #2 after she said she could not remain impartial. She lives on the Upper East Side and works as a nurse:
“I definitely have concerns,” she said, noting that her family and friends questioned if she was serving on the jury. “I don’t think I can be fair.”She also said she thought that “outside influence” would “interfere.”The woman also noted that she did not want aspects of her identity to be reported.Judge Juan Merchan excused her and warned the press about covering the trial.
Merchan cautioned the press, “You can write about anything on the record, but apply common sense when writing about jurors using physical descriptions and descriptors.”
He also told them not to write “about anything that can be observed with eyes to ‘ensure jurors remain safe.'”
Merchan pointed out that the trial “lost what would have been a good juror” due to fears “of being intimidated.”
Do you think the press will oblige?
Merchan then excused Juror #4 after a past arrest “for tearing down right-leaning political advertisements” came to light:
The man had been arrested in Westchester, N.Y., for tearing town political advertisements, according to a prosecutor from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.”I actually believe the propaganda that was being ripped down was political posters that were on the right — the political right,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said Thursday.Steinglass said that after additional research, it also appeared that the juror’s wife had been previously accused of, or involved in a “corruption inquiry” that needed a “deferred prosecution agreement with the district attorney’s office.”
Now the trial only has five sworn in jurors. The court needs thirteen before the prosecutors or defense present their opening arguments.
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