NEW YORK (AP) – The first six jurors in Donald Trump's hush money trial were selected Tuesday. Lawyers grilled jurors about their social media posts, political views and personal lives to determine whether they would receive a fair verdict for Donald Trump. president.
The court will select a jury of 12 jurors and six alternates to decide whether to convict Trump of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during the 2016 presidential campaign. started.
What you need to know about Trump's hush money trial:
Potential jurors were questioned for several hours about their views on President Trump and other issues, and eight were excused because they could not be impartial or had other obligations. Some said they believed the case could be tried fairly, regardless of their feelings about President Trump and his policies as president.
This methodical process, which could take days or even weeks more, will create a person who can fairly judge the polarizing defendant who has painted himself as the victim of political persecution in his bid to retake the White House. This highlights the unprecedented challenge of finding one.
The first day of Donald Trump's historic hush money trial ended with hours of pretrial motions and initial jury selection in which dozens of potential jurors were excused for being unable to be impartial or impartial. The process ended on Monday.
The trial, which began Monday, puts Trump's legal issues at the center of his close race against President Joe Biden. This is the first of President Trump's four criminal charges. The case is scheduled to go to trial and could be the only verdict reached before voters decide whether to elect a president in November. Prospective Republican presidential nominee.
Trump watched in court as her lawyers challenged social media posts she made after losing the 2020 election. While the judge was questioning potential jurors, Trump at one point spoke loudly and gesticulated, prompting the judge to admonish the former president.
“I don't know what he was saying, but I heard it, and he was gesticulating. And he was talking to the jury,” Judge Juan Mercian said. “I will not tolerate that. I will not tolerate jurors being intimidated in this courtroom.”
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass took President Trump's notoriety head on, telling potential jurors that his lawyers were not looking for people who had been “living under a rock for the past eight years.” They just needed to keep an open mind.
“This case has nothing to do with your personal politics… It's not a referendum on Trump's presidency, it's not a popular vote, it's not who you vote for in November. We don't care. “This case is about whether this man violated the law,” he said.
Mr Trump is pleaded not guilty to 34 felonies for falsifying business records as Some of the alleged efforts This was to prevent sordid and false stories about their sex lives from surfacing during the 2016 campaign.
Before entering the courtroom, Trump paused briefly in the hallway to face television cameras and reiterated his claims that the judge was biased against him and that the case was politically motivated.
“This is a case that should never have been brought,” President Trump said. After he entered, reporters saw him give one of the court staff a look and say, “How are you doing?” while he was walking down the aisle. Trump then took his seat at the defense table with his lawyers.
Associated Press correspondent Julie Walker reports that Donald Trump is in court as jury selection continues in his hush money case.
The trial is expected to last more than six weeks, with multiple jurors bringing up plans beyond Memorial Day. One parent was granted an exemption Monday because of their child's wedding in late June. The other person was fired on Tuesday because of a planned trip.
One man said he feared that his ability to be impartial would be compromised by “unconscious bias” because he grew up in Texas and worked in the financial industry with people who “tend to be intellectually Republican.” and was exempted.
Another prospective juror told the judge, “I'm not sure I can say it's fair beyond a reasonable doubt.” She said, “I can try. But I'm not 100% sure I'm being fair.” She was also fired.
A woman who says she disagrees with President Trump's policies and is sometimes irritated by him has vowed to be fair and impartial, and said in her defense that if she were chosen to serve on the jury, she would “keep calm and do the best I can.” told Todd Blanche of People.
“I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about whether I would be able to do it,” she said.
After another juror said he couldn't have a fair trial, Trump twisted in his chair and looked toward the box. He appeared generally attentive during the first few minutes of the day, jotting down notes and holding a piece of paper up to his face as jurors filled out a lengthy questionnaire.
When another person said they had read two of the former president's books, “The Art of the Deal” and “How to Get Rich,” Trump burst out laughing and nodded his head in an exaggerated way. . The man said some of his wife's family members are Republican lobbyists and said he didn't think anything would prevent him from looking at the case fairly.
“I feel that no one is above the law,” he said.
The charges center on a $130,000 payment made by Trump's company to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen.He paid that amount on Trump's behalf to keep porn actor stormy daniels She also never went public with her claims about sexual encounters with Trump a decade ago. President Trump has denied that any such contact occurred.
Prosecutors claim the payments to Mr. Cohen were incorrectly recorded as legal expenses. Prosecutors said the money was part of a plan to bury harmful coverage that Trump feared would help his opponent in the 2016 campaign, especially since Trump's reputation had been tarnished by comments at the time. He explains. he talked about women.
President Trump acknowledged that he had repaid the payments to Cohen and that the payments were intended to prevent Daniels from going public about the alleged meeting. But President Trump has previously said he has nothing to do with the campaign.
More than half of the original panel of 96 potential jurors brought into court on Monday were released after telling the judge they could not be fair and impartial, and several others were not named. fired for other reasons.
In court papers filed Tuesday, prosecutors asked a judge to fine Trump $3,000 for violating a gag order for social media posts that limit what he can publicly say about witnesses. Ta. In his post, President Trump called Mr. Cohen and Mr. Daniels “two despicable people who have caused tremendous damage to our country with their lies and misrepresentation!”
Prosecutors wrote that the judge should admonish Trump to comply with the gag order and warn him that further violations could result in additional fines as well as prison time.
If President Trump is convicted of falsifying business records, he could face up to four years in prison, but there is no guarantee he will stay behind bars.
Mr. Trump's lawsuits involving election interference and allegations of storing classified documents could lead to long prison terms, but the cases are tied to appeals and other issues and will be decided before the election. The chances are becoming less and less likely.
And if Trump wins in November, he could likely order the new attorney general to dismiss the federal lawsuit.
___
Richer reported from Washington.