Opening statements are set to begin next week in Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial after the final members of the jury were seated on Friday following a dramatic day in which two potential jurors broke down in tears, a court judge Appeals court rejected Trump’s suspension request, and a man set himself on fire in front of the courthouse.
“We will have opening statements on Monday morning. This trial is beginning,” Judge Juan Merchan said later in the day, after successfully seating the five remaining alternate jurors needed.
The case – the first criminal trial of a former president – will be heard by a panel of 12 jurors and a total of six alternates. It is expected to last around six weeks.
The five alternates selected on Friday include an unemployed married woman who likes art and describes herself as non-political, an audio professional, a contracts specialist, an executive at a clothing company and a project manager at a music company. construction. It took four days of jury selection to find the 18 jurors.
Around the same time the judge declared, “we have our full panel” inside the courtroom in the early afternoon, a man set himself on fire outside the courtroom. An NYPD spokesperson said the man, identified as Max Azzarello of Florida, was in critical condition. He appears to have pamphlets describing a cryptocurrency conspiracy that he spread before setting himself on fire, police said.
By late afternoon, Trump’s lawyers were in a state appeals court trying again to get an emergency stay of the trial. Trump lawyer Cliff Robert argued that his client could not get a fair trial in Manhattan, which was Trump’s longtime home before moving to Florida after being elected president in 2016.
Steven Wu of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office responded that “what the past week has shown is that jury selection worked.”
“We have 18 everyday New Yorkers who are ready to serve. It would be unfair to them and the public for this to be delayed further,” she argued. The judge rejected Trump’s suspension request shortly thereafter.
The jury selection process on Friday was especially intense, with some potential jurors breaking into tears and others saying they were too eager to serve.
The day began with the judge summoning the remaining 22 potential jurors from the previous group ’96 to answer questions designed to indicate whether they could be fair and impartial about the real estate mogul and presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
The first of these potential jurors was dismissed after she said she didn’t think she could be fair. “I have really, really bad anxiety and people have found out where I am,” she told the judge. Shortly thereafter, two other potential jurors were dismissed after each told the judge that, upon further reflection, “I don’t believe I can be impartial.”
Other potential jurors included a married father who said he listens to a podcast called “Order of Man,” which is described on the Apple website as discussions about “reclaiming what it means to be a man.” Some past guests on the podcast include people who have openly supported Trump and strongly criticized the civil fraud case that New York Attorney General Letitia James brought against the former president. The man, an audio specialist, was chosen as one of the substitutes.
Another potential juror was a married money manager who said he did “vote-getting” work for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 presidential opponent. Trump and his lawyer Todd Blanche exchanged notes as the juror spoke. . He was later fired after being questioned about a 2020 Facebook post where he apparently called Trump “the devil and a sociopath.”
Trump seemed more interested in jurors whose answers offer ambiguity around their personal political views. When a potential juror said he was a Fox News viewer, Trump tilted his head and chatted briefly with his lawyer, Todd Blanche.
Another potential juror was a woman who was emotional as she revealed she had served two years in prison on drug charges but said she could be “fair and impartial.”
During the morning break, Merchan — who chided reporters Thursday for releasing too much information about potential jurors — said the woman shared “very personal things about her life” and was “very brave.” “I just wanted to encourage the press to be kind. Please be kind to this person,” the judge said. He later dismissed her, saying she needed a clearance certificate to qualify for service going forward. As she left, she happily shouted, “Good luck!”
After the juror left, the prosecutor’s office began individual interrogation of the jurors. One woman, who revealed that her father is a longtime friend of Trump ally-turned-critic Chris Christie, burst into tears when prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked her an innocuous question about the burden of proof in the case. “I’m so nervous and anxious right now. I’m sorry,” she replied, starting to cry. “I thought I could do it,” she said, adding, “I wouldn’t want someone who felt that way to judge my case.” She was fired.
Hoffinger’s questioning was followed by Trump lawyer Susan Necheles, who asked a potential juror who had started her own business how she would evaluate a witness’s credibility. The woman then asked to speak to the judge, saying she was “becoming anxious and having doubts” due to Necheles’ interrogation.
Later, Necheles asked another woman — who previously said she was a victim of sexual assault — if she would use the fact that women outside of this case had accused Trump of sexual assault against Trump. She said she would have no problem letting these charges go, but the judge ultimately excused her, saying, “It’s best to err on the side of caution.”
Another man said he has some differences with Trump on his policies, but thinks he is “generally awesome.” He was not chosen for the jury.
On his way to court in the morning, Trump complained again that the case against him is “unfair” and that the partial gag order that prevents him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors is not “constitutional”. “Everybody can say whatever they want about me. They can say whatever they want. They can keep making up lies and everything. They lie. They’re real scum. But you know what? I’m not allowed to talk,” he said to reporters.
Prosecutors this week asked the judge to fine Trump and hold him in contempt for social media posts that they said violated the gag order. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday.
The 12-person main panel is made up of seven men and five women, including two lawyers, a professor, a retired wealth manager, a product development manager, a security engineer, a software engineer, a speech therapist and a physical therapist. . The foreman — the juror who essentially serves as the panel’s leader and spokesperson — is a married man who works in sales and receives news from The New York Times, MSNBC and Fox News.
The only alternative selected on Thursday is a woman who works as an asset manager.
Trump vented about the speed of the process in a social media post shortly after the selection of the final jurors, claiming that the judge is “’screwing’ me, at breakneck speed, in order to completely satisfy his ‘friends.’”
Later that day, Merchan held what is known as a Sandoval hearing. This is a type of hearing designed to allow defendants to learn the extent of the questions they could face from prosecutors on cross-examination so that they can make informed decisions about whether or not to testify in their own defense.
As he left the courtroom on Friday, Trump was asked if he still planned to testify and he said yes.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office disclosed in a court filing that it would like to ask Trump about several items, including the $464 million civil judgment against him and his company for fraud, the total U.S. $88 million and findings of liability for sexual abuse and defamation. in lawsuits brought by writer E. Jean Carroll and in a series of other adverse court rulings in recent years.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in all cases and is appealing the fraud ruling and the Carroll verdicts.
Prosecutors said they want to be able to bring these findings to light “to impede the defendant’s credibility” if he takes the witness stand.
Discussing the fraud case’s findings, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told the judge that it was “difficult to think of anything that is more direct” for the prosecutor to ask Trump “than a judge’s finding of persistent and repeated fraud and illegality.”
Trump lawyer Emil Bove responded that prosecutors should not be able to address the matter because Trump’s appeal is still pending. He made similar arguments about the prosecutor’s claim that they should be allowed to ask about a judge’s conclusion that he had lied on the witness stand during the fraud trial and had violated a gag order in the case.
“Is it your position that because a case is being appealed or can be appealed, it cannot be used?” Merchan asked the lawyer. “Not necessarily,” Bove replied.
The judge said he will issue his ruling on the dispute on Monday morning.
Trump said last week that he “absolutely” plans to testify but is under no obligation to do so.
Asked by Necheles later in the day who the prosecutor’s first witness would be, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said he would not inform Trump’s team of the person’s identity until Sunday, as Trump continued to criticize some witnesses on social media despite the joke partial. order in the case. “And if this is tweeted, it will be the last time we extend this courtesy,” Steinglass said.
Merchan called the prosecutor’s position “understandable” and told Necheles, “I’m not going to make them do anything.”
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
Bragg alleges that Trump falsified records to hide the money he was paying his former lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for the $130,000 he paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels near the end of the 2016 presidential campaign. had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump denied sleeping with Daniels but acknowledged repaying Cohen.
The DA’s office also alleges that as part of a scheme to boost Trump, National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc. paid $150,000 to model and actress Karen McDougal, who appeared in Playboy magazine and claimed she had a nine-month affair with Trump before he was elected president “in exchange for her agreement not to speak openly about the alleged sexual relationship,” according to a statement of facts filed by Bragg.
Trump also denied having a sexual relationship with McDougal.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
