In one of the most prominent trials in American history, attorneys were having difficulty assembling a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates. On Thursday, the judge supervising the criminal prosecution of former US President Donald Trump dismissed two jurors.
One juror was discharged by Justice Juan Merchan after the prosecution claimed he might not have reported past run-ins with the law. Merchan did not give a reason for the juror’s dismissal.
A juror who claimed she was scared by the disclosure of some personal information was already excused by the judge. She claimed that after assuming she was on the jury, her relatives, friends, and coworkers got in touch with her.
“At this point, I don’t think I can be impartial and fair and allow outside factors to have no impact on my decision-making in the courtroom,” the juror said.
The two removals mean that five people so far have been selected for the jury.
The rulings brought to light the tremendous strain surrounding the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president.
About half of the 192 prospective jurors who have been screened so far in Manhattan, a predominantly Democratic borough, have been dismissed from consideration on the grounds that they are unable to fairly determine Trump’s guilt or innocence. Trump is one of the most divisive figures in American politics.
The Republican running for president on November 5th faces accusations that he concealed a $130,000 payment made by his former attorney Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence on an alleged sexual encounter that occurred ten years prior to the 2016 election.
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying company documents. Trump has entered a not guilty plea and has denied ever having spoken to Daniels, whose actual name is Stephanie Clifford.
Also, in three other criminal instances in Washington, Georgia, and Florida, he entered a not guilty plea.
Perhaps the only trial he has to go through before the election is the one in New York. Trump, the Republican nominee for president in the Nov. 5 election, would still be able to run for office and assume office despite having been found guilty.
Without offering any proof, Trump claims that the four criminal investigations are part of a larger scheme by Democratic President Joe Biden’s allies to impede his campaign.
Following their criticism of Trump, officials in a few of those cases have reported being harassed and receiving death threats.
Merchan has taken action to protect the jury from abuse by declaring that everyone will stay anonymous, save for Trump, his legal team, and the prosecution. He declared on Thursday that he would forbid media organizations from disclosing information regarding prospective jurors’ employment.
According to Barbara O’Brien, a law professor at Michigan State University, jurors’ safety may be in jeopardy due to Trump’s actions and the increased public interest in the case.
She replied, “They are just folks doing their civic duty by showing up.” “They’re not willingly participating in a public discourse.”
Trump has been under a partial gag order enforced by Merchan, who has also insulted witnesses, prosecutors, and their families.
After they reported three possible infractions on Monday, prosecutors claim that Trump has broken the gag order seven times. They have requested that Merchan impose fines or other sanctions.
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy cited posts on Thursday that included information about former Trump lawyer Cohen, who is anticipated to be a prominent prosecution witness, as well as a post claiming that liberal undercover activists had been lying to the judge in an attempt to be included on the jury.
The posts “do not establish any purposeful violations” of the gag order, according to Emil Bove, one of Trump’s attorneys.
(Reuters)
