The process of selecting jurors for former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial commenced on Tuesday afternoon, resulting in the selection of the initial six jurors from a pool of 96 potential candidates.
Monday saw over 50 potential jurors disqualified after expressing an inability to remain impartial. However, some remaining candidates faced scrutiny due to their past social media activity, which included negative remarks about Trump.
For instance, one prospective juror had shared a post on social media predicting “Republicans projected to pick up 70 seats in prison,” alongside expressing concerns about her ability to be fair. Despite being retained until Tuesday, she was not among the six selected jurors.
Similarly, another candidate had recently shared a parody video featuring Trump, titled “I’m dumb as f-ck,” generated by artificial intelligence, leading to their dismissal from consideration. Another individual disclosed involvement in a political action committee supporting grassroots organizations but admitted to holding critical views of Trump.
Another potential juror’s social media activity included posts celebrating legal setbacks for Trump and advocating for his imprisonment. Despite retracting his stance during questioning, his past statements drew attention, with Trump reportedly reacting with a smirk.
Further proceedings will involve the selection of an additional six jurors and six alternates in the coming days.
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Trump Hush Money Trial Enters Day Two as Jury Selection Continues
By Fox News. . .The jurors include two lawyers, an IT worker, an English teacher, an oncology nurse, a sales professional, and a software engineer.
The jurors are picked by process of elimination in a system that will repeat until a full jury is selected: Eighteen prospective jurors are brought to the jury box and then lawyers move to have certain prospective jurors eliminated “for cause.”
They then eliminate some with peremptory challenges, which don’t require a reason. . .
Former President Trump said the criminal trial is having a “reverse effect,” during a campaign visit Tuesday evening to an Upper Manhattan bodega, while vowing to “straighten out New York” by working with the Democrat mayor and governor if elected to another term in the White House.
Trump visited an Upper Manhattan bodega Tuesday evening after spending hours in downtown New York City courtroom for the second day of his criminal trial stemming from charges brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
via joemiller