The first seven jurors for Donald Trump’s hush money trial were seated Tuesday after lawyers grilled the jury pool about their social media posts, political views and personal lives to decide who can sit in fair judgment of the former president.
The panellists who were selected were an information technology worker, an English teacher, an oncology nurse, a sales professional, a software engineer and two lawyers.
On Tuesday, the jury was selected from a group of several dozen Manhattan residents.
Eleven more need to take their oaths before the initial statements can commence. The process will continue on Thursday morning, with prospective jurors being brought to the jury box in groups of 18. Lawyers then move to eliminate certain individuals “for cause” or through peremptory challenges, which do not require a reason, according to an AP report.
Donald Trump is complaining about jury selection
Donald Trump is complaining about the jury selection procedure on social media on the day he has off from his criminal trial in New York.
The former president is arguing that he does not have enough strikes during the jury selection process, which allows him to exclude potential jurors who his legal team finds objectionable.
Trump intends to keep fighting the judge
After a long day of trial, former President Donald Trump promised to keep pushing to have the judge presiding over his case removed.
Trump’s attempt to have the case postponed due to the recusal attempt last week was rejected by an appellate court, and Judge Juan Merchan dismissed his second recusal move on Monday.