Topline
Six jurors were selected on Tuesday in former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial following a rigorous round of questioning, leaving just six jurors left to be chosen, while a growing list of prospective jurors have already been eliminated, including some over social media posts.
Key Facts
Those six jurors chosen include a corporate lawyer from Chelsea, an IT consultant from Puerto Rico living on the Lower East Side, an English language teacher from Harlem, a salesman originally from Ireland living in West Harlem and a software engineer with the Walt Disney Company.
The six were selected out of a group of 18 potential jurors who made it past the first round of questioning for a litany of further questions from defense attorneys and prosecutors on whether they can be unbiased.
A panel of 12 jurors from Manhattan will ultimately form the jury in Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan, where he has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges for allegedly falsifying documents stemming from hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election, including six from the group of 18.
The other prospective jurors questioned on Tuesday include a New York City Department of Education employee who has lived on the Upper West Side for seven years, a Riverside Drive resident who reviews disability benefits for the Social Security Administration, and one who said he has read “The Art of the Deal” and has several in-laws who work as Republican Party lobbyists.
Another of the 18 potential jurors lives on the Upper West Side and works for a senior living company, while one potential juror is a corporate lawyer at Gunderson Dettmer, another works in marketing and one is retired.
Those jurors have faced a string of questions from defense attorneys and prosecutors, with prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asking prospective jurors if they have seen news reports of the case that have affected their opinions on it, and if they could set aside the media reports they’ve seen while sitting on the bench.
Jurors were also required to answer 42 questions in what Judge Juan Merchan called the “most exhaustive questionnaire” the court had ever used, with questions running the gamut from prospective jurors job history, to which news outlets they follow, whether they have attended a Trump rally or support any of a number of fringe groups such as QAnon.
Contra
Two of the 18 prospective jurors were dismissed from consideration Tuesday afternoon. One was removed after Trump attorney Todd Blanche cited several social media posts including one posted in 2017 on Facebook with the potential juror criticizing Trump’s proposed travel ban, writing: “Get him out and lock him up,” receiving a smirk from Trump. Another juror was dismissed after a past Facebook post was revealed indicating they fundraise for a PAC that they said “supports grassroots organizations,” and after they said that “politically,” they have a critical view of Trump. Defense attorneys also sought to remove another of the potential jurors, citing a March 27 parody video posted on social media featuring Trump entitled “I’m dumb as f**k” and another referencing Trump’s classified documents case, when the juror wrote: “no one is above the law.”
Key Background
Trump was indicted on 34 felony charges in Manhattan last March, the former president and 2024 GOP nominee’s first of four criminal indictments since launching his presidential campaign. Prosecutors in the case allege Trump falsified business records by mislabeling a $420,000 payment to former attorney Michael Cohen to allegedly cover the cost of a $130,000 hush money payment to former adult film star Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, with Trump allegedly labeled that payment as a legal fee to Cohen. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Tangent
While the identities of the jurors have not been released, potential witnesses in the trial could include a group of Trump’s former associates and members of his family. Among the potential witnesses are former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, former White House staffers Hope Hicks and Steve Bannon, as well as Trump’s adult children and his wife, Melania Trump.
Chief Critic
Trump has sounded off against both Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg, who brought the felony charges, and Merchan, in the year since his indictment in New York, repeatedly bashing the case as a “witch hunt.” On Tuesday morning, the former president slammed Merchan again, claiming he “prohibited” him from attending his youngest son Barron Trump’s high school graduation on May 17, and while Merchan did not immediately grant Trump’s request to skip the trial for the ceremony, he did not outright deny Trump’s request either. In his response, Merchan said his decision on whether or not to grant Trump’s request “depends on if we are on time and where we are in the trial.”
