Trump trial gets seven jurors seated in New York

The
first
seven
jurors
for
the
New
York
hush
money
trial
of

Donald
Trump
were
seated
Tuesday
as
Judge
Juan
Merchan
said
he
expects
opening
statements
to
begin
Monday
morning.

Five
more
jurors
and
another
six
alternates
remain
to
be
picked.
But
the
jury
selection
is
proceeding
at
a
faster
pace
than
what
was
expected
by
many
legal
experts,
who
said
it
could
take
up
to
two
weeks.

Those
selected
—
a
salesman,
an
oncology
nurse,
an
attorney,
an
IT
consultant,
a
teacher,
a
software
engineer
and
a
civil
litigator
—
will
sit
for
what
is
the
first-ever
criminal
trial
of
a
former
U.S.
president.

After
the
trial
adjourned
Tuesday
evening,
Trump
complained
outside
the
courtroom
that
Merchan
is “rushing
this
trial.”

The
charges
against
Trump
relate
to
an
alleged
scheme
to
conceal
the
nature
of
a
$130,000
payment
to
porn
star
Stormy
Daniels
before
the
2016
presidential
election.
His
then-lawyer
made
that
payment
to
prevent
Daniels
from
disclosing
her
alleged
sexual
tryst
with
Trump
years
earlier.

Before
the
first
group
of
jurors
was
selected
Tuesday
afternoon,
Merchan
warned
Trump
against
intimidating
the
jury
after
he
was
heard
talking
toward
a
prospective
juror.

“I
will
not
tolerate
that,”
the
judge
said
after
that
would-be
juror
left
the
courtroom. “I
will
not
have
any
jurors
intimidated
in
this
courtroom.
I
want
to
make
this
crystal
clear.”

Merchan
told
Trump’s
lawyers, “While
the
juror
was
about
12
feet
from
your
client,
your
client
was
audibly
saying
something
in
her
direction.”

“He
was
gesturing,”
the
judge
said.

“Take
a
moment
to
talk
with
your
client,”
Merchan
told
the
defense
team.

Trump’s
attorney
Todd
Blanche
then
whispered
something
to
Trump,
and
the
former
president
made
a
gesture
indicating
he
understood
what
was
said.

Trump’s
remarks
in
the
juror’s
direction
were
not
intelligible
to
NBC
News
reporters
in
the
courtroom.

The
judge
said
Trump
was “muttering.”

Merchan’s
warning
came
after
the
prospective
juror
was
questioned
about
a
social
media
post
flagged
by
Trump’s
lawyer,
who
claimed
it
showed
her
participating
in
a
celebration
of
the
2020
election
results.

Asked
about
the
post,
the
woman
juror
said
she
was
celebrating
health-care
workers
during
the
Covid-19
pandemic.
She
insisted
that
she
was
capable
of
being
impartial.

Merchan
said
he
found
her
credible,
apparently
allowing
her
to
remain
in
the
jury
selection
process
for
now.

The
would-be
juror,
who
was
identified
in
court
only
by
a
number,
was
one
of
18
people
who
were
being
questioned
by
prosecutors
and
defense
attorneys
Tuesday
as
part
of
the
jury
selection
process
known
as
voir
dire.

On
Monday,
more
than
50
would-be
jurors
were
promptly
excused
because
of
self-professed
bias
against
Trump.
That
was
more
than
half
the
first
panel
of
96
prospective
jurors
who
were
brought
in
to
the
courtroom
that
day.

More
potential
jurors
were
dismissed
Tuesday
morning
after
saying
they
could
not
be
fair
in
judging
the
former
president.

“I
don’t
think
I
can
be
as
impartial
or
unbiased
as
I
thought
I
could
be,”
one
prospective
juror
said
before
being
excused.
Eight
others
were
dismissed
Tuesday
morning,
including
multiple
who
said
they
could
not
be
impartial
to
Trump.

The
dismissals
underscored
the
challenge
of
prosecuting
the
polarizing
Republican
presumptive
presidential
nominee
in
New
York
City.

Yet
the
proceedings
on
Tuesday
nevertheless
appeared
to
be
moving
faster
than
expected.
And
before
the
court
adjourned
Tuesday
afternoon,
Merchan
swore
in
another
panel
of
96
prospective
jurors
to
continue
the
process.
That
group
will
return
to
court
Thursday
morning.

Manhattan
District
Attorney
Alvin
Bragg
accuses
Trump
of
trying
to
influence
the
2016
election
by
buying
the
silence
of
Daniels,
who
says
she
had
a
one-time
sexual
tryst
with
Trump
in
July
2006.
Trump
has
denied
having
sex
with
Daniels at
that
time,
which
was
four
months
after
his
wife
Melania
Trump
gave
birth
to
his
youngest
son,
Barron
Trump.

Just
before
entering
the
courtroom
Tuesday,
Trump
defended
the
payments
he
made
to
Michael
Cohen,
his
former
personal
lawyer
who
helped
coordinate
the
hush
money
scheme.
Bragg
accuses
Trump
of
reimbursing
Cohen
in
monthly
installments
that
were
falsely
labeled
as
being
for
legal
expenses
rendered
in
2017. 

“I
was
paying
a
lawyer
and
marked
it
down
as
a
legal
expense.
Some
accountant,
I
didn’t
know,
marked
it
down
as
a
legal
expense,
that’s
exactly
what
it
was,”
Trump
said. “And
you
get
indicted
over
that?”

Trump
also
railed
against
Merchan,
calling
him
a “Trump-hating
judge”
who “shouldn’t
be
on
this
case.”

His
attorneys
on
Monday
got
chilly
responses
from
Merchan
when
they
asked
to
adjust
the
trial
schedule
so
that
Trump
can
attend
other
personal
and
legal
matters.

Those
events
include
a
Supreme
Court
hearing
on
his
request
for
presidential
immunity
in
another
criminal
case,
and
Barron’s
high
school
graduation.

Merchan
did
not
reject
those
requests
outright,
but
also
did
not
immediately
grant
them.

The
trial
is
set
to
last
around
six
weeks,
with
proceedings
taking
place
four
days
a
week.

Trump
is
required
to
be
in
court
throughout
the
trial,
potentially
interfering
with
his
presidential
campaign
plans.