New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan thanked the participants for their courage as several of them revealed painful details of their pasts in front of dozens of reporters during jury deliberations. He said Trump’s rhetoric would make it difficult to judge him fairly and praised others for their honesty.
“I feel very devastated, nervous and anxious,” one potential juror told the judge Friday morning. “This is way more stressful than I expected.” Hours later, a man who had been protesting outside the courthouse all week against both President Trump and President Biden self-immolates. did. He was hospitalized in critical condition.
Both sides began to lay out their trial strategies through questions aimed at eradicating bias among jurors.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass told prospective jurors that the government would prove not only bank fraud, but also an implicit conspiracy to “commit election fraud” and “cover the eyes of American voters.” Ta. Prosecutors say Trump bypassed campaign finance laws by funneling $130,000 through Michael Cohen, the lawyer and fixer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the money was used to repay Cohen. falsely claimed that the funds were used for legal activities.
Defense attorney Susan Necheres laid the groundwork for impeaching the testimony of convicted perjurer Cohen, urging prospective jurors to “use common sense” and “say two things that are diametrically opposed. “I want you to understand that someone is lying if you say that.”
He said jurors must agree that “if someone tells a story in different ways over time and changes details, that could be a sign that they’re lying.” added.
The New York case, the first of four criminal charges facing President Trump, is generally seen as the weakest, in part because of the parties involved. Mr. Cohen admitted that he lied not only to Congress but also to federal tax and election officials. Ms. Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, previously denied having an affair with Mr. Trump. She said she felt she had no choice because of the non-disclosure agreement she signed.
Another prosecutor suggested the government would try to compensate for these potential weaknesses by presenting documents to the court to support their testimony. “Documents don’t lie” Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger told the group: “They corroborate their testimony.”
Before appearing in court Friday, the 12 jurors and six alternates were advised not to read, hear or watch anything about the case or discuss it with anyone. This will be especially difficult in what could be the most closely watched case in American history, with a presidential candidate and reality TV star speaking to television cameras. Every day, from the hallway inside the courthouse.
On Friday, President Trump made the same kind of vitriolic remarks that many potential jurors said changed their view of him, and that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a graduate of Harvard University and Law School, “Probably not smart enough,” the Democratic Party declared. He will be in charge of the trial himself.
In fact, elected prosecutor’s office leaders rarely appear in court, and it is almost always assistant district attorneys like Mr. Steinglass and Mr. Hoffinger who present cases to juries.
One juror said Friday that Mr. Trump, who grew up in New Jersey, was the image of big-city success. He told himself he would one day live in Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue landmark built by President Trump in the early 1980s. “That was a powerful symbol for me.”
The man said he associated President Trump with “toxic” and “divisive” politics. To make matters worse, he said, he doesn’t believe President Trump really believes his biased statements: “I think he’s just pushing to stay in power.”
The man was removed from the group after it was revealed that he had called President Trump “the devil” on social media. So did a woman who said the rise of President Trump had “emboldened” her to make homophobic, racist and sexist comments at the gym where she boxed.
Some were excluded for reasons unrelated to famous defendants. One woman appeared overcome with emotion as she relayed that detail to the judge, explaining that her past felony convictions prevented her from serving on a jury. The man tearfully told her that she had been the victim of a crime.
Trump’s team is scouring social media for evidence that jurors are biased against him. However, many of those selected said they do not engage with such platforms and do not closely follow politics, preferring news about sports, technology and business.In addition to mainstream news publications that the president routinely despises, multiple prospective jurors also They said they read the conservative New York Post and watch Fox News. And many of those tested said they had no problem judging the former president.
“He’s a New Yorker, and I’m a New Yorker,” the professional chef said. “We’re not really star-obsessed and we don’t care about that kind of thing at all.” Trump is “a regular guy like me,” he said.
