Hard to find: Court needs six more jurors without strong views about Trump
The first six jurors have been selected to serve on Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial, as the selection process continues to choose a panel of 12 members and six alternates who can be fair to the former US president.
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The judge on Tuesday also warned lawyers that he would not tolerate disruptions after saying Trump, the Republican candidate for president in the November 5 election, was audibly muttering while a prospective juror was questioned.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels says she had a sexual encounter with Trump about a decade beforehand.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies an encounter took place. He has called the case, brought by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a partisan āwitch huntā meant to interfere with his campaign to unseat Democratic President Joe Biden.
The hush money case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faces, which also stem from trying to overturn his 2020 loss and alleged mishandling of classified information. He has also pleaded not guilty to those charges, though the other three cases may not go to trial before the election.
The six jurors selected on Tuesday included a man originally from Ireland who enjoys doing āanything outdoorsyā and watches both MSNBC and Fox News, a woman who works as an oncology nurse and enjoys taking her dog to the park, and a corporate lawyer who said he does not follow the news that closely.
During questioning by Trumpās lawyer Todd Blanche earlier on Tuesday, the nurse said she did not have a strong opinion about Trump.
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But, she said, āNo one is above the law.ā
Jury selection began on Monday and could last at least a week. The process so far has highlighted the challenges of choosing a group of impartial jurors from heavily Democratic Manhattan.
More than half the initial pool of 96 jurors called were dismissed on Monday after saying they did not believe they could be fair.
In questioning some who remained on Tuesday, Blanche said he did not care about jurorsā politics but wanted to get a sense of whether they could be fair to Trump as an individual.
āItās extraordinarily important to President Trump that we know that weāre going to get a fair shake,ā the lawyer said.
The jurors are anonymous except to Trump and lawyers for both sides.
Several prospective jurors said they did not have strong opinions about Trump, or said their opinions were not relevant to the case.
āIf we were sitting in a bar, Iād be happy to tell you,ā said one jury candidate, a man who works at a bookstore and enjoys going to Broadway shows.
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āBut, in this room, what I feel about President Trump is not important.ā
Merchan ultimately dismissed the juror.
In questioning jurors earlier on Tuesday, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said the case was not a referendum on Trumpās presidency.
āThis case is really not about whether you like Donald Trump,ā Steinglass said.
āThis case is about the rule of law and whether Donald Trump broke it.ā
With jurors outside the courtroom, Merchan told lawyers for both sides that Trump had been audibly muttering and gesturing while one prospective juror was being questioned. The judge told Trump lawyer Blanche to speak to his client about his behaviour.
āI wonāt tolerate that,ā the judge said.
āI will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom.ā
Trump has routinely tested judgesā tolerance during his recent legal woes, and is currently subject to a gag order imposed by Merchan. It bars Trump from making statements about witnesses, court staff and family members that are meant to interfere with the case.
On Monday, prosecutors asked Merchan to fine Trump $US1,000 ($A1,557) for each of three social media posts this month that criticised Daniels and Michael Cohen, Trumpās former fixer who is expected to be a prominent witness in the trial.
Blanche said the former president was only responding to their criticism of him.
Merchan said he will consider the fines on April 23.
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