The jury selection process kicked off Tuesday in the historically unprecedented criminal trial of former President Donald Trump over alleged “hush money” payments made in 2016.
After lengthy questioning, seven initial jurors were seated from a pool of prospective panelists.
Eleven more jurors must still be sworn in before opening statements, which are expected as early as next week.
The methodical process of jury selection began in the Manhattan courtroom on Monday. Trump’s team and prosecutors grilling jury candidates on their political views, social media presences, and ability to weigh the evidence fairly. Scores of potential jurors were dismissed after saying they could not be impartial toward the polarizing defendant.
Trump faces 34 felony counts in the trial. Prosecutors claim he falsified business records related to $130,000 paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels over allegations of s a sexual encounter with Trump that he denies.
Prosecutors claim the payment, which was intended to bury the damaging story during his 2016 presidential campaign, was fraudulently claimed as a business expense.
The trial marks the first criminal case against the former president to reach trial, but is unlikely to be the only one resolved ahead of the upcoming election. Trump’s legal team has tried to delay proceedings until after voters weigh in the 2024 presidential race.
Trump has decried the process as being “rushed.” Both sides acknowledged the challenges of empaneling an unbiased jury in a heavily Democratic area where the former president built his public fame and real estate empire.
Prospective panelists were probed on factors like whether they had read Trump’s books or held strong feelings about him that could impact their judgement.
Trump again defended himself to reporters after Tuesday’s hearings, saying, “I was paying a lawyer and marked it down as a legal expense…you get indicted over that?”
Here’s what we know about six of the seven jurors so far, according to NBC News:
A man who lives in West Harlem and works in sales. He is married, likes to do “anything outdoorsy,” and gets news from The New York Times, Fox News and MSNBC.
A woman who lives on Upper East Side and works as an oncology nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering. She is engaged and likes to spend time with family and friends and take her dog to the park. She gets news from CNN, The New York Times, Google and Facebook.
A young man who has lived in Chelsea for five years, works as an attorney in corporate law, and likes to hike and run. He gets news from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Google.
A middle-aged man who lives on the Lower East Side and works in IT training and consulting. He is married with one child and two grandchildren. He said he has “no spare time.” He gets news from the New York Daily News, The New York Times, Google and X.
A young woman who is a Harlem resident and works as a teacher. She lives with her boyfriend, loves writing, theater and traveling. She gets news from Google and TikTok and listens to podcasts on relationships and pop culture.
A young woman who lives in Chelsea and works as a software engineer. She gets news from The New York Times, Google, Facebook and TikTok.
Stephen Dietrich is the Publisher of The Horn News