Former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial has already become the legal version of a Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus production. From a tumultuous jury selection process to a man setting himself ablaze outside the courtroom, the proceedings have devolved into a spectacle even before the opening arguments have been made.
Of course, for many, it was already hard enough to take this case seriously, given the fact that it was clearly motivated by a desire to influence the outcome of the upcoming presidential election. But now, there is even more reason to believe this trial will be nothing more than a politically charged fiasco.
The jurors have finally been seated. But recent revelations further indicate that this panel will be anything but unbiased. Each juror was required to fill out a questionnaire and answer a battery of queries to help the court assess whether they should serve on Trump’s trial.
Judge Juan Merchan released his questionnaire of 42 questions for potential jurors ahead of Trump’s upcoming hush money trial.
— Elizabeth Weibel (@elfaddis) April 9, 2024
Some of the questions:
-“Do you have any feelings or opinions about how Mr. Trump is being treated in this case?”
- “What do you do for a living?”
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READ MORE: What We Know: The Jury Is Now Seated for Trump's Manhattan 'Hush Money' Trial
One of the questions centered on the news media that all 18 of the jurors and alternates consume. The results were about as shocking as finding out Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) was double-dipping into his campaign funds. However, the revelations should raise even more questions about this jury’s ability to be objective in how they approach Trump’s case.
Eight jurors indicated they get their news from the New York Times. Interestingly enough, only one out of six alternate jurors indicated that they did not read the newspaper. This means the NYT is the most-consumed news outlet among members of the jury. In second place was Google, with four jurors saying they find news on the search engine, which has continually displayed a brazen bias in favor of the left.
When it comes to right-leaning news outlets, the results were quite sparse. Only one juror indicated they watch Fox News. The same holds true for the New York Post, Truth Social, and The Daily Mail. Three said they read the Wall Street Journal.
What this means is that the New York Times, one of the most virulently anti-Trump publications in the nation, is a regular source of news for more than half of the members of the jury. This could be a clear indicator of how this trial will proceed.
The NY Times has been anything but fair and balanced in its coverage of the former president. The alleged news outlet has published op-eds and reports comparing Trump to Adolph Hitler on numerous occasions. The newspaper has even published oodles of content specifically intended to repudiate Trump’s statements while all but completely giving President Joe Biden a pass when he tells blatant mistruths. The aptly-named columnist Charles Blow even penned a piece lamenting the fact that America has forgotten the supposed “trauma” inflicted by Trump’s presidency because Biden is such a horrible president.
If the results of this questionnaire are any indication, Trump’s legal team is facing a steep uphill battle to defend their client.
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