Trump criminal case: Jury selection reaches final stage

Jury selection in Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial is in its final stage – raising hopes that opening statements could be made on Monday.

A full 12-person panel has been sworn in, and six alternate jurors are being sought to act as reserves if needed.

Mr Trump is accused of falsifying business records in the first criminal trial of an ex-president. He denies it.

Finding an impartial jury in New York, where Mr Trump built a business empire, had been expected to take weeks.

But things moved quickly after Mr Trump’s team ran out of the permitted number of objections.

“We have our jury,” Justice Juan Merchan declared on Thursday after seven men and five women were selected. Two jurors had to be excused earlier.

The trial stems from a hush-money payment to a porn star.

Stormy Daniels was given $130,000 (£105,000) before the 2016 election to buy her silence about an affair she claims she had with Mr Trump – an affair that Mr Trump denies having.

The payment itself was not illegal, but Mr Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat. He has pleaded not guilty.

As Mr Trump left court on Thursday evening, he showed dozens of printed media articles criticising the charges, which he said were “political”.

“It’s a very unfair, very bad thing,” said the Republican, who will challenge President Joe Biden, a Democrat, for the White House in November’s election.

“The whole world is watching this hoax.” He also took issue with the temperature in the courtroom, saying it is “freezing in there”.

The day’s jury-selection session faced an initial setback after Justice Merchan dismissed two members of the panel who had been seated this week.

The judge announced that Juror #2 had realised she could no longer be impartial after friends and family gleaned from media reports that she had been chosen for the panel. They began to bombard her with messages, she said.

“I don’t believe at this point that I can be fair and unbiased,” she said, as it might be difficult not to let outside opinions affect her decision in the courtroom.

Source: BBC