We're on Day 3 of the Manhattan criminal trial involving former President Donald Trump. The jury selection process is ongoing, but what began at a fairly brisk pace has slowed somewhat, with two of the previously empaneled jurors being dismissed Thursday morning.
As things sat at the end of the day on Tuesday, seven of the 12 jurors needed had been seated. (Up to six alternates will also be chosen.)
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However, one of the first items of business on Thursday morning (court was not in session on Wednesday) was to address the concerns of one of the empaneled jurors. She indicated she had concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial after all. After a discussion with her, the juror was excused.
The juror says that she has concerns because "aspects of my identity" have been out there and she's concerned she will not be able to act fair and impartial.
"Yesterday alone, I had friends colleagues and family push things to my phone questioning my identity as a juror," she said.
She is excused.
Now, a second of the previously empaneled jurors has been excused. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass raised an issue regarding Juror No. 4 with the court this morning, noting that they had discovered some potential discrepancies regarding his previous responses.
Prosecutor Steinglass: We discovered an article that a person with the same name was arrested in the 1990s in Westchester for tearing down political advertisements. It seems the juror was previously accused in a corruption inquiry, got a deferred prosecution deal
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 18, 2024
That juror had not yet arrived at court, apparently under the misperception that he was not required to be there until Friday. He did finally arrive, however, and following some discussion with the court and the attorneys, he, too, has now been excused.
Earlier today, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said he notified the court that in the prosecution's research, they found information about this juror that called into question the veracity of the answers he gave during voir dire.
Prosecutors said they found records of a person with the same name who was arrested in the 1990s for tearing down political advertisements.
When asked about the nature of the political advertisements, Steinglass indicated they had been "to the right."
Justice Merchan: Did the propaganda ripped down favor one side or the other?
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 18, 2024
Prosecutor Steinglass: I believe it was to the right.
Trump's lawyer Blanche: We agree we need to inquire.
Justice Merchan: The juror was reluctant to come in. We could excuse them
It's not entirely clear if that means this juror would have had a bias against the former president, but in either case, the discrepancies in his responses and his prior history were sufficient for him to be excused for cause.
That reduces the number of seated jurors to five. The second panel of 96 prospective jurors is currently being questioned. It's still possible that jury selection will be concluded by the end of the day on Thursday, but it would not be surprising if it bleeds over into Friday, given these recent developments.
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