Update - 4:51 pm Eastern:
The 12 jurors and one alternate selected have been sworn in. Judge Merchan advised that the parties still need to pick the remaining alternates (on Friday), and asked those sworn to return on Monday for opening statements.
Update - 4:48 pm Eastern:
All 12 jurors and one alternate have been seated.
Prior to that, one prospective juror was dismissed for cause after "spicy" social media posts highly critical of Trump were raised.
A potential juror who wrote what the Trump attorney described as "vitriolic" posts about the former president on social media was dismissed from the jury panel.
Judge Juan Merchan said it was a "close call" and noted that she had apologized to Trump, but ruled he would grant the challenge by his attorneys and dismiss her for cause.
The potential juror said she's changed her views toward Trump to some extent since her harsh posts.
She said she would withdraw the term racist she once used against Trump.
She did say:
"There have been behaviors that I haven't approved of President Trump toward females." But she said his ethics are his business and not at issue at this trial.
Update - 4:13 pm Eastern:
It's been an illuminating afternoon in court as 18 prospective jurors from the second panel (of 96) were questioned by attorneys for the prosecution and former President Trump. Trump attorney Susan Necheles really drilled down on some of the responses, pressing jurors regarding their personal feelings regarding Trump and the responses were an interesting mix.
Here's a smattering of them:
Trump's lawyer Necheles: Juror 2, 502 - you said [someone you know] works for someone in Congress. Who?
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 18, 2024
Juror: Hakeem Jeffries.
Necheles: Thank you. B675, hi - do you have strong opinions about President Trump?
Juror: Uh, yes. I agreed with most of his policies
Necheles: 789?
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 18, 2024
789: Politically, there are things I'm not in favor of.
Necheles: Mr. 496, do you have opinions about President Trump?
496: He was our President, pretty amazing. I started out as an entrepreneur as well, I've made a lot of things happen, like he has
Now, here it gets even more interesting. The prospective juror who previously indicated she had met Necheles previously, it turns out actually stayed at her home (albeit 15 years prior). Necheles moved to strike her for cause, and the judge denied that one, which certainly is questionable. (Something I'd note for the record on appeal.)
Trump's lawyer Necheles: I've never seen a juror who knew one of the lawyer on the case not dismissed.
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 18, 2024
Justice Merchan: That's not grounds. Your challenge for cause is denied.
Necheles: We also seek to remove Seat 11.
Justice Merchan: We're only doing 1-7
The attorneys continue to confer with the court regarding their proposed strikes for cause as well as peremptory strikes.
Update - 3:25 pm Eastern:
The questioning proceeds apace. The juror who said she knew Susan Necheles, one of Trump's attorneys, indicated she had simply met her once 15 years ago and did not feel that would interfere with her ability to be fair and impartial.
Necheles is conducting the questioning on behalf of Trump Thursday afternoon and probing potential juror bias in relation to social media postings and political beliefs.
And here, an artist's rendering from inside the courtroom:
See a scene from inside the courtroom https://t.co/FanEraWdYn
— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) April 18, 2024
Update - 2:50 pm Eastern:
Court is back in session, and 18 of the jurors from Thursday morning's second panel have been brought in for further questioning by the parties. Judge Merchan has indicated that a third panel of 96 will be sworn in Thursday afternoon and instructed to return late Friday morning for questioning, indicating that jury selection will likely last through Friday.
Update - 1:43 pm Eastern:
The court is currently on a break for lunch. The questioning of the second panel of prospective jurors has continued, with one juror being excused after stating it would be hard for him to be fair and impartial. Another juror has informed the court that she knows one of Trump's attorneys, Susan Necheles, but the judge intends to question her further to determine if she can remain fair and impartial.
One of the ongoing themes of the day is the temperature of the courtroom. Apparently, it's quite chilly today.
As former President Donald Trump exited the courtroom for a lunch break, he turned to reporters inside the courtroom and asked, "Is it cold enough?"
It is, indeed, chilly in the facility, according to CNN journalists at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York.
One of Trump's attorneys, Todd Blanche, approached Judge Juan Merchan earlier today and asked if they could make the courtroom any warmer. Merchan agreed it was chilly, but said that even a minor adjustment to the thermostat would heat up the courtroom significantly.
The judge said he would rather be a little cold than sweat.
Update - 12:20 pm Eastern:
A second previously-seated juror has now been excused. (Juror No. 4, whom the prosecution raised as a potential issue earlier, was excused following questions by the parties and the judge.)
Another one of the jurors who was empaneled yesterday has been excused. That means we're now down to five people on the jury.
Earlier today, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said he notified the court that in the prosecution's research, they found information about this juror that called into question the veracity of the answers he gave during voir dire.
Prosecutors said they found records of a person with the same name who was arrested in the 1990s for tearing down political advertisements.
Update - 11:20 am Eastern:
The second panel of prospective jurors is now answering individual questions. Some interesting responses among this group, including the woman who apparently has a good deal of familiarity with the case and works in the legal field...and attended the Women's March. (Prediction: She'll be challenged for cause by the defense and if that is not successful, peremptorily stricken.)
Seat 1: I've discussed some of the legal merits of this case with many co-workers.
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 18, 2024
Justice Merchan: Would that impact you?
Seat 1 (sighs) No. I could put it aside. I'd have to work a full day when I'd get out of here. I have attended rallies, the Women's March
There's also a prospective juror who follows Trump's Truth Social posts.
Seat 3: I work in capital markets, I am on Twitter, I follow Truth Social posts of Trump on Twitter. I did lose an uncle to crime [Detail voluntarily omitted]. I might take Tums for acid reflux. I'm agnostic, was Catholic. I do follow Trump on X, reposts from TS
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 18, 2024
Update - 10:44 am Eastern:
The questioning of the next panel of 96 is underway, and the judge has asked jurors if they feel that they can be fair and impartial. Many of them apparently do not feel that they can be. Forty-eight have been excused on that basis, and nine more for scheduling conflicts.
Update - 10:00 am Eastern:
After some back and forth between the judge and the attorneys, Judge Merchan has instructed the press not to publish the jurors' responses about their employers in an effort to minimize the likelihood of their identities becoming public.
The prosecution has raised additional social media posts of former President Trump, contending that they are in violation of the court's gag order.
Additionally, the prosecution has advised the court it discovered another of the seated jurors may not have been truthful in his answers. That judge suggests that juror could also be excused. They agree to question the juror when/if he arrives at court.
The next panel of 96 prospective jurors has been brought into the courtroom.
Update - 9:35 am Eastern:
The day is already starting with a bit of drama as one of the already-empaneled jurors contacted the court and raised concerns as to whether she could, in fact, be fair and impartial in the trial. She has now been excused. So, we're back down to six.
And Judge Merchan has admonished the press regarding descriptors of jurors.
Justice Merchan: You are excused. I want to address the press. There's a reason this is an anonymous jury. Press is free to right about anything said here on the record. But please avoid physical descriptions - why mention Irish accent?
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 18, 2024
[Inner City Press didn't]
So Wednesday was a bit of a nice reprieve from the Manhattan criminal trial of former President Donald Trump over so-called "hush money" payments made to Stormy Daniels. Not a reprieve from a raucous news day, mind you. But a nice pause before diving back into jury selection. As we've reported, seven jurors have been seated thus far in the case.
READ MORE:
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Thursday, the parties will proceed with sorting through the next panel of 96 prospective jurors, attempting to weed out those who can't be fair and impartial. (Note: This is a bit of a wink-wink situation. Of course each party doesn't want to weed out those who'll be partial to their side or antagonistic toward the other. But...those with an obvious bias have to be excused if the show trial is going to have any credibility. This is true in any/all trials.)
Once those with clear scheduling conflicts or obvious biases are excused for cause, the parties will wrangle over a few — likely examining past social media posts as they did on Tuesday. A bit more about that:
Oh...wanted to address something I saw people (mostly those who aren't fond of DJT) commenting on yesterday: the prospective jurors' social media posts. I saw several questions raised about how Trump's legal team could have accessed them and so quickly. It's not rocket surgery or…
— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) April 18, 2024
And after excusing prospective jurors for cause, the prosecution and defense will make their peremptory challenges. Each side has four left.
Judge Juan Merchan has indicated he intends for them to seat up to six alternate jurors in addition to the 12 primary jurors selected. This only makes sense in a trial that is likely to stretch on for a number of weeks. Jurors get sick, have family emergencies, or fall into a persistent pattern of nodding off while witnesses are testifying. Any of these occurrences can necessitate substituting an alternate in his/her place.
Based on the pace at which things have proceeded thus far, I wouldn't be surprised if they complete jury selection by the end of the day on Thursday — Friday at the latest.
Stay tuned here as we bring you live updates of the day's developments in the case.
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