Trump’s New York hush money trial continues after sleepy start to jury selection: What to know
Jury selection continued Tuesday morning in the case of the People of the State of New York v. Donald Trump — the first criminal trial of a former president ever.
Jury selection continued Tuesday morning in the case of the People of the State of New York v. Donald Trump — the first criminal trial of a former president ever.
The quest to find a jury of 12 people and six alternates got off to a slow start Monday, as more than half of the 96 potential jurors summoned to the Manhattan courtroom said they couldn't be "fair and impartial" when it comes to Trump, the polarizing New York native and former commander-in-chief.
That trend continued on Tuesday, with the first prospective juror of the day excused after suggesting he couldn't be impartial because he's from Texas, in finance and grew up around Republicans. “I believe I have some unconscious bias,” he said. A second juror was excused after telling the judge that she had done some thinking overnight and decided, “I can’t be impartial and unbiased.” Four others were also excused — one because they couldn't be impartial, two because of scheduling issues and the other for an undisclosed reason.
Shortly before walking into the courtroom, Trump told reporters he had done nothing wrong and attacked Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, as "Trump-hating judge." He also complained that the case is keeping him off the presidential trail: "I should be, right now, in Pennsylvania, in Florida, in many other states."
Trump at first appeared to be animated and engaged in discussions with his lawyers, pointing in the air with a pencil to punctuate his response. But after about an hour, Trump was seen periodically leaning back and closing his eyes, only to shift his weight moments later. Later, he had his eyes closed and his head tilted to the left. It was unclear if he was sleeping. He had his eyes closed during some of Monday's proceedings as well.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-hush-money-trial-jury-selection-day-2-rcna147940
Rating: 5