The criminal trial of former President Donald Trump has commenced with a significant number of potential jurors being dismissed due to concerns over their impartiality. The trial centres around allegations that Trump falsified business records to conceal a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Out of the initial group of 96 potential jurors, 60 quickly expressed their inability to be impartial, leaving a smaller pool for further questioning.
The dismissals highlight the difficulty in finding a group of 12 jurors who can objectively assess a case that involves a high-profile sex scandal and a former president running for office again.
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The Manhattan District Attorney’s office alleges that Trump directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to pay Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter, which Trump denies.
Prosecutors argue that this payment was meant to unlawfully influence the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The jury selection process began with the judge dismissing jurors who indicated their inability to be impartial. Approximately 34 potential jurors remained and were then subjected to a detailed questionnaire consisting of 42 questions.
These questions covered various topics, including their news-reading habits and any connections to Trump, such as attending his rallies or reading his books. After the questionnaire, 18 individuals were randomly selected to answer the questions in the jury box.
During this process, one potential juror mentioned reading the Wall Street Journal, while another mentioned listening to radio programs like NPR. Both individuals were not immediately dismissed.
However, one woman simply replied “yes” when asked about her strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about Trump and was subsequently dismissed. Trump’s legal team initially objected to her dismissal, but the reasons for their objection were not explained.
Due to the high-profile nature of the case, all jurors will remain anonymous, although Trump’s legal team and the prosecutors will have access to their identities according to a report by SurgeZirc FR.
Throughout the day, Trump remained quiet in court, speaking only briefly to his lawyers and maintaining a stern expression. He responded with a simple “yes” when asked about proper conduct in court. However, outside the court, Trump referred to the trial as “nonsense” and an “assault on America.”
Trump’s public remarks about the case became a topic of debate during the court proceedings. Prosecutors argued that some of Trump’s posts on his social media site, Truth Social, violated a gag order imposed by Justice Juan Merchan.
The order prohibits Trump from making public comments about individuals involved in the case, including potential witnesses. The order was expanded to include relatives of those involved after Trump attacked Justice Merchan’s daughter on social media.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office requested a fine of $3,000 for three of Trump’s posts, including one where he referred to his former attorney and future trial witness, Michael Cohen, as a “disgraced attorney and felon.” A hearing date of April 24th was set to decide on the matter.
The judge used the morning session to determine which evidence would be admissible in court.
The defence and prosecution debated the inclusion of leaked audio from a recording of the NBC show “Access Hollywood,” in which Trump made controversial comments about grabbing women. The judge decided not to allow the audio to be played for jurors but permitted prosecutors to refer to the content of the tape.
Outside the court, both supporters and critics of Trump made their voices heard. Dozens of people rallied peacefully but loudly, with some cheering on Trump and others expressing their desire for his conviction.
The trial involving the hush-money payment is one of four criminal cases Trump is facing, and it may be the only one to go to trial before the 2024 presidential election, should he decide to run again.
Justice Merchan also rejected a defence request to excuse Trump from the trial on a specific day so that he could attend Supreme Court arguments related to another criminal case. The judge emphasized the significance of both events and stated that Trump would be required to attend the trial.
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