Former US President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom during his trial in Manhattan State Court in New York on charges that he falsified business records to hide money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 City, USA, April 18, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
A judge dismissed a second juror from Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial on Thursday, potentially delaying opening arguments in the historic case.
The first juror was recalled Thursday morning after she expressed concerns about her identity being made public and her ability to be fair. The second juror was excused after his previous answers in court about his prior criminal history were questioned by prosecutors.
The dismissals leave just five jurors seated on the third day of the trial in Manhattan Supreme Court. Seven additional jurors and six alternates still need to be selected.
Earlier Thursday, prosecutors accused Trump on social media seven more times of violating his confidentiality in the case. The gag order prohibits him from making certain statements about jurors and witnesses, as well as the judge’s family members and Trump’s prosecutors.
“It’s ridiculous, it has to stop,” Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy told Judge Juan Merchan.
Conroy said Trump’s “most disturbing post” reflected a claim by Fox News host Jesse Watters that potential jurors included “undercover liberal activists who are lying to the judge.”
In this courtroom sketch, former President Donald Trump, far right, turns and looks at potential jurors who raised their hands and asked to be released from the Manhattan Criminal Court jury on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in New York.
Elizabeth Williams | Via Reuters
Conroy said prosecutors would decide later what sanctions they would seek against Trump. A hearing on Trump’s alleged gag order violations is scheduled for next week.
The dismissed juror said she received several calls Wednesday from people asking if she had been selected. Watters listed a number of details about the juror in a broadcast Tuesday night, including her marital status and news diet, and said, “I’m not so sure about her.”
That juror told Merchan on Thursday morning, “I don’t think I can be fair and impartial and not let outside influences influence me in the courtroom.”
The judge apologized and immediately excused her from the hearing. He cautioned journalists covering the trial to “use common sense” and not publish identifying information about jurors who are supposed to remain anonymous.
Merchan also instructed the press not to publish answers to a question in the jury’s questionnaire about previous and current employers.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records to silence porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, seated far left, with Judge Juan Merchan presiding, watches as members of the jury answer questions from the jury questionnaire in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in New York.
Elizabeth Williams | Via Reuters
Despite Thursday’s dismissals, the trial is still moving forward at a pace that could see opening arguments begin as early as Monday – a week faster than some legal experts predicted.
Trump must sit in court throughout the trial, which takes place every day of the week except Wednesday and is expected to last about six weeks.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has denounced the trial as a political “witch hunt” and complained that it would prevent him from campaigning against President Joe Biden.
Read more about Trump’s hush money trial
But Trump has also used the media frenzy surrounding his trial — and his three other pending criminal cases — as an opportunity to spread campaign messages and attack his political opponents. On Tuesday afternoon, Trump accused Judge Juan Merchan of “rushing” the trial.
He then traveled to a campaign stop at a bodega in North Harlem to point out that his prosecutor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, was failing to stop crime in New York City because he was focused on the trial.
On Wednesday, Trump complained that his legal team wasn’t given “nearly enough” opportunities to challenge potential jurors. In fact, he received exactly the number of strikes allowed under New York law.
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2024-04-18 17:34:13
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