NEW YORK — Jury selection in the hush-money trial of former President Donald Trump will resume Friday after a hectic day Thursday in which all 12 jurors and one alternate were ultimately sworn in after two jurors seated earlier in the day were dismissed.
One of those jurors was excused Thursday after raising doubts about her ability to be fair and impartial after aspects of her identity were revealed and a second sitting juror was removed following concerns about the accuracy of his answers to questions about whether he had ever been accused or convicted of a crime.
Lawyers are now focusing on choosing five alternates.
The jury seating brings the trial a step closer to opening statements and heightens the tension in this year’s race for the White House, putting Trump’s legal jeopardy at the center of his campaign against President Joe Biden.
The hush money case is the first of four charges against Trump to come to trial. It centers on alleged payoffs to two women — porn actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said they had sexual encounters with Trump years earlier. Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of those payments in internal company documents. Trump has said none of the alleged sexual encounters took place.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying corporate records and could face up to four years in prison if convicted. It is unclear whether the judge would choose to put him behind bars.
Currently:
– The hush money case is just one of Trump’s lawsuits. Check out the others here
– Judge in Trump case orders media not to report where potential jurors work
– Social media searches play a central role in jury selection for Trump’s trial
– Only 1 in 3 American adults think Trump acted illegally in the New York hush money case, an AP-NORC poll shows
Here’s the latest:
A third panel of potential jurors will be questioned Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money case, bringing jury selection one step closer to completion.
After a jury of 12 New Yorkers convened Thursday, attorneys were expected to turn their attention to choosing remaining alternates who can promise to put aside their personal views and impartially judge the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
The judge has suggested that opening statements in the criminal trial could begin as early as Monday.
Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The trial will put Trump in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks, forcing him to juggle his dual roles as criminal defendant and political candidate against the backdrop of his hotly contested race against President Joe Biden.
Jury selection proceeded at a slow pace Thursday as two of the initial seven jurors were dismissed.
But late in the day, lawyers in quick succession reached an agreement on the remaining seven, along with one alternate. Judge Juan M. Merchan has said his goal is to have five additional deputies.
Even with the selection of 12 jurors set, it’s still possible the lineup could change as proceedings continue Friday.
Judge Juan M. Merchan was scheduled to hold a hearing Friday to consider a request from prosecutors to bring up Donald Trump’s past legal entanglements if he takes a stand in the hush money case.
Prosecutors in Manhattan have said they want to question Trump about his recent civil fraud trial that resulted in a $454 million verdict after a judge found Trump had lied about his wealth for years. He is appealing against that verdict.
Trump says he has done nothing wrong and has portrayed himself as the victim of a politically motivated justice system bent on keeping him out of the White House. He has lashed out on social media at the judge, prosecutors and potential witnesses, prompting prosecutors to seek sanctions for possible violations of a silence order in the criminal case.
After Thursday’s court proceedings, Trump complained to reporters that he should have campaigned but instead had to appear in court, saying it was a “very unfair trial.”
“Everyone is outraged about it,” he said. “You know the whole world is watching this New York scam.”