Jury pick on Donald Trump’s hush money court on Thursday There are some topics that could attract the former president’s attention: Miami, real estate and media.
Trump frowned when one New Yorker talked about his decades in law enforcement. The juror, who said he had Yankees season tickets, added that he read the New York Post and Daily News. It’s as if Trump, who was yawning a few minutes ago, was electrocuted.
Later, Trump straightened his back and tilted his chin as the young lawyer, born and raised in Miami, began going over his answers to the jury’s question. When asked if she was the victim of a crime, the woman said her phone was stolen from her in Paris, and she noted that her family’s car “accidentally got burned in a fire in Italy.”
Any respite Trump might have expected from the woman was quickly dashed when she talked about reading The Washington Post, a newspaper the former president criticized. He said that while he has “opinions” about Trump, he’s “comfortable to be able to put them aside.” The woman described watching Fox News occasionally “just to try to see what’s going on from all sides.”
Trump crossed his arms and stared at the space in front of him.
Both jurors were later dismissed.
At times, Trump raised his neck as potential jurors left the courtroom, saying he didn’t think they could be particularly fair or impartial.
That was the fate of a former university administrator who recalled seeing Trump before he was elected president when he was a developer and tabloid fixture. Jurors described seeing Trump and his ex-wife Marla Maples once “shopping for baby stuff at ABC House.” He said he had heard positive things about Trump, but added: “As a president, I feel differently about him.”
It demonstrated the complexities of exchange sits on the jury In Democratic-leaning Manhattan, where Trump faces a public that is deeply sympathetic to his behavior and policies.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he falsified business records to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormi Daniels at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign.
For the most part, Trump seemed uncertain about the future during Thursday’s rant. He did not follow the legal team, turning to face the potential jurors seated in the courtroom as he was introduced to the defense.
As Presiding Judge Juan Merchan finished reading the jury instructions, he yawned.
Two judges were dismissed after sitting in the long process.
First, the oncology nurse said she had second thoughts about her ability to be fair or impartial. Another, an IT consultant, returned for questioning and said he was “annoyed” by how much information about him was already out in the open.
One social media influencer said she “[p]for being among those who asked for his dismissal because of his strong views About Trump.
Those who weren’t immediately smitten checked the jury’s questionnaire with answers befitting a densely populated metropolis with the highest per capita income in the country.
The attorney, who said he had discussed the case and its legal merits with “many colleagues,” was asked if it would affect his ability to serve fairly and impartially. He replied with a sigh, saying that even with his legal studies aside, “it’s hard to make a call.” He did not sit on the jury.
Others who stood up to Trump called him “selfish and self-serving” and described themselves as “allergic” to “personal and petty” politics.
One man said he was born and raised in Italy and then compared Trump to Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s late prime minister and notorious womanizer who was convicted of tax fraud in 2013.
“It would be a little difficult for me to maintain my impartiality and fairness,” the man said before being fired.
A self-proclaimed “Bernie gal” later apologized after she was asked to read aloud some of her social media posts attacking Trump during the 2016 campaign, saying she was “in an upset state.”
“I’m not in those positions today,” he said.
“Electoral politics can be very spicy and Mr. Trump can be very spicy. And I feel I have to apologize to him for some of my language,” he said.
Robert Hirschhorn, a jury consultant with Cathy E. Bennett & Associates, said the process is not unusual, with high-profile cases often prompting intense scrutiny, including by the jurors themselves.
“Seven steps forward, two steps back,” said Hirschhorn, referring to Murphy’s Law.
“If it can go wrong, it will,” he said.
However, he said he expects a fair and impartial jury to be selected by the end of jury selection.
Merchan was sworn in on a 12-person jury Thursday. He aims to have the other five replacements in place by the end of Friday.
The trial is expected to last eight weeks, and Trump must attend every day or face penalties.