NEW YORK (AP) — A 12-person jury was seated Thursday for the historic trial of former President Donald Trump in New York, bringing the trial closer to opening statements and powerful testimony for a few weeks.
The court quickly proceeded to select alternate jurors.
Jurors include a sales professional, a software engineer, a security engineer, an English teacher, a speech therapist, several attorneys, an investment banker and a retired securities manager.
The first trial in history of a former US president will take place while the campaigns for the White House are underway, which guarantees that the legal problems of the virtual Republican candidate will be a predominant issue in the race against Democratic President Joe Biden.
The trial will almost certainly feature unfavorable testimony about Trump’s personal life before he became president, with accusations that he falsified accounting books to suppress stories about his sexual relationships in the final days of the 2016 election campaign.
The former president has made clear his determination to use his legal situation to his advantage. After a full day of jury selection, Trump complained to reporters that he should be campaigning, but instead he was in court for what he says is a “very unfair trial.”
“Everyone is outraged by it,” he said. “They know the whole world is watching this New York farce.”
The jury selection process appeared to suffer a setback hours earlier when two jurors were dismissed, one after she said she doubted their ability to be impartial after details about their identity were revealed, and the other because of concerns. that some of his answers in court may have been inaccurate.
But lawyers, who began the day with just five jurors, chose the remaining seven in quick succession, along with an alternate. Judge Juan Merchan has said that his objective is to have six substitutes.
The trial revolves around a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen — then Trump’s lawyer — made shortly before the 2016 election to porn actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her allegations that she had a sexual encounter with Trump. were announced in the last days of the electoral campaign.
Prosecutors say Trump concealed the true nature of the payments in accounting records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be one of the prosecution’s most prominent witnesses.
Trump has denied having sexual relations with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments made to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.
The former president faces 34 serious charges of falsifying accounting records. If he is convicted he could go to prison for four years, although it is not clear whether the judge will decide to put him behind bars. Trump will almost certainly appeal any guilty plea.
In other developments, prosecutors asked Trump to be held in contempt for a series of social media posts this week, and the judge barred reporters from revealing jurors’ employers after expressing concern. your privacy.
