MANHATTAN (CN) — The first batch of Manhattan jurors in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial was selected Tuesday after hours of voir dire that, at times, tested the judge’s patience.
The former president was back in court on Tuesday, standing trial on charges of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to an adult film star during the 2016 presidential election. Trial officially began Monday afternoon with the start of jury selection, but it wasn’t until Tuesday that the first of the jurors were sworn in after questioning from prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Among the seven jurors is a Chelsea-based corporate attorney who told the court that he gets his news from Google, “that’s it,” he said.
A teacher from Harlem who told the court that she has friends with strong opinions about Trump but isn’t a political person and doesn’t “care for news” joined the panel. She also said that she appreciates that Trump is someone who “speaks his mind” and doesn’t beat around the bush.
Another juror who made the cut said he found Trump “fascinating” and “mysterious.”
“He walks into a room and he sets people off one way or another, and I find that really interesting,” he said.
Merchan aims to swear in five more jurors and six alternates to serve for the duration of the roughly six-week trial. He instructed the newly picked jurors to return to court on Monday, when he hopes to start opening statements, depending on how the rest of jury selection pans out.
The judge called in a fresh batch of 96 prospective jurors on Tuesday afternoon to try and fill the remaining spots. The group contains an Upper East Side real estate developer who said he knows people through work who know Trump, but that he doesn’t know him personally. Another potential juror from the new group was dismissed after saying that he would love to serve “one of our great presidents” on the jury, but can’t get off of work.
Trial won’t be active on Wednesdays as Merchan tends to his other cases, so the court will pick up on Thursday with a new batch of Manhattanites.
Tuesday marked an efficient day for the court, which was effectively able to iron out more than a third of the jury selection process with the seven jurors picked. It wasn’t without its hiccups, though. At one point, Merchan sharply reprimanded Trump for “audibly muttering” while a prospective juror was answering for some supposed anti-Trump Facebook posts.
“While the juror was at the podium about 12 feet from your client, your client was audibly muttering something,” Merchan told Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche. “I don’t know exactly what he was uttering. It was audible and he was gesturing and it was in the direction of the juror. I will not tolerate that. I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear.”
Blanche had accused the prospective juror of making “extremely hostile Facebook posts” against Trump — apparently a series of videos of 2020 election celebrations in New York City — in an effort to have her dismissed for cause.
“It’s clear from the video that it’s a celebration of the results of the election,” Blanche said.
The potential juror was called back into court to explain the videos, when Trump audibly and visibly reacted to some of her answers, leading to Merchan’s tirade against the former president.
Trump is already on a short leash. On Monday, prosecutors asked the court to sanction Trump for making three inflammatory posts to social media in violation of his gag order. In one of the posts, he called potential witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels “sleaze bags.”
Prosecutors want Trump fined $1000 per post and reminded by the court that he could face jail time for criminal contempt if he keeps this up. Merchan has yet to issue a ruling, and instead scheduled a hearing on April 23 to determine whether Trump violated the gag order.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, charges brought last year by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg claims Trump instructed his ex-lawyer Cohen to pay off Daniels, an adult film star who claims to have been involved in an extramarital sexual relationship with Trump, to avoid bad press while making his first presidential run.
Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges, and denies ever having a relationship with Daniels.
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