12 to go, and the courtroom has already had some agitation by Trump.
Judge Merchan brought in six jurors who made it through all the attorneys’ questioning to be sworn in. He said he would ask them to return to the courthouse Monday at 9:30 a.m. — indicating that he hopes to be able to start the trial in earnest early next week.
Merchan said he hopes to select six alternate jurors in addition to the 12 selected to be on the panel.
So far, Trump’s team has used six of his 10 preemptory strikes, including one for the juror who posted videos of New Yorkers celebrating Joe Biden’s win back in 2020. Prosecutors have used four of their 10 strikes.
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Six Manhattan residents – including an Irish waiter, an oncology nurse and a man who finds Donald Trump “fascinating” – have now been selected to serve on a jury that could deliver the first criminal trial verdict against the former president.
Sitting with his attorneys in a criminal courtroom on Tuesday, Mr Trump craned his neck to get a good look at the group during the second day of jury selection in his landmark hush money case.
About 100 people were called into the jury pool on Monday. Roughly half of them were dismissed outright, stating that they could not be fair and impartial. A randomly selected group of potential jurors were asked to read through a 42-question survey before prosecutors and attorneys for the former president asked them questions individually.
By Tuesday afternoon, six jurors had been sworn in to the trial – including the foreperson who will likely read out the former president’s verdict to the court, if one is reached.
Former President Donald Trump just touched the third rail during his hush money trial as prosecutors executed a powerful courtroom chess move, a former prosecutor told CNN Tuesday.
Karen Agnifilo, an ex-assistant district attorney in the borough where Trump faces his first criminal trial, appeared on the network to discuss the stern warning that a muttering and glaring Trump received from Judge Juan Merchan.
"The third rail is if anyone starts to make the jury feel any kind of intimidation whatsoever, the jury has to be protected at all costs and not just for safety reasons," Agnifilo explained.
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