CNN
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The historic first criminal trial of a former U.S. president begins with opening statements Monday.
Get the latest information on President Trump’s criminal trial
Judge Juan Marchan quickly considered about 200 potential jurors and decided by noon Friday on 18 jurors, 12 of whom will decide Donald Trump’s fate in the New York hush-money case. He swore in six substitutes.
There were predictions earlier in the week that jury selection could spill over into the second week, but Thursday’s loss of two authorized jurors by Judge Marchan made that possibility less likely. seemed expensive. But the judge said Friday it was fair not to rely on a third panel of about 100 reserve jurors because he had found enough potential jurors willing to serve on the jury.
Trump complained about Marchand’s pace as he left the courtroom Friday as his lawyers continued to try to delay the trial.
“The trial starts on Monday, which is much earlier than many people think. The judge wants this case to move forward as quickly as possible. That’s his reason, not mine.” President Trump spoke in the hallway on the 15th.th floor court.
Here are the highlights from the final day of jury selection in Trump’s hush money trial.
On Friday, four women and one man were added to the jury as five of six alternates in the case. They will sit in the jury box and hear the duration of the trial, but they will only be added to the jury if one or more of the 12 jurors is excused from the case.
The final jury included a woman from Spain, a martial arts fan and native New Yorker, a contract specialist, a woman who works for a clothing company, and a project manager for a construction company.
All 18 jurors will meet for the first time on Monday morning when the trial begins. Five of the jurors were from the first panel of 96 who were sworn in Monday, and the rest were from the second panel, which did not begin answering questions until Thursday morning.
The fourth day of jury selection was similar to the first three. Prosecutors in this case focused on preparing jurors to accept testimony from unfavorable witnesses like Michael Cohen. Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers focused almost exclusively on one question: “What did jurors think of Donald Trump?”
The former president appeared uninterested in the proceedings during much of the district attorney’s office questioning, sitting in his chair and fiddling with documents. But once his lawyers began asking jurors what they thought of him, the former president headed to the jury box and paid close attention.
Questioning of potential jurors Friday morning included several emotional moments, with two jurors telling the judge in dire circumstances that they no longer felt like serving.
One prospective juror, who works in sales at a trading company, began crying when she was handed a microphone during the trial.
“I’m sorry. I thought I could do this. I also don’t want people who feel this way to judge my case,” she said, adding, “This is much more than I thought. It’s stressful,” he added.
Machan invited her to come to the bench for a personal talk. Then he excused her.
At some point after the jury had left, another juror raised his hand and told the court that he had begun to feel “severe anxiety” as he sat listening to a series of questions about the credibility of the witnesses.
The woman said she felt “anxious and lacking confidence” as she tried to approach the bench. She was forgiven too.
All jurors had the opportunity to be excused from the start without further questioning by the judge if they felt they could not act fairly and impartially in the case.
The jurors in Friday’s harrowing trial had known since Tuesday that Trump was a defendant in the case, and before stepping into the jury box, they had no idea what it would be like to be a historic juror. I had been given a few days to ponder what it was like.
But the excused jurors, along with the chastised juror who was excused earlier in the week after she expressed concern that part of her identity had been made public, also said the ex-president’s trial was not a judicial decision. He emphasized how much of a burden this is placing on the system.
Despite jury selection, Trump’s lawyers once again tried to halt the trial with strategic appeals.
The move signals that Trump’s lawyers are likely to continue trying to clear procedural hurdles in the criminal trial, even though it has already begun.
In a new motion filed Friday morning, Trump’s lawyers asked an appeals court to suspend the trial pending a ruling granting Trump’s appeal to move the hush money trial from Manhattan. He once again asked the Court of Appeals to halt the trial.
Attorney Cliff Robert argued on Trump’s behalf in a hastily scheduled hearing Friday afternoon.
In a separate courtroom from where the trial is underway, Roberts said it was “unacceptable” to select a jury within three days when so many potential jurors had been dismissed on grounds of bias. told the judge.
President Trump unsuccessfully appealed a similar delay request for a change of venue motion last week.
The prosecution team argued at the time that the motion was premature because jury selection had not yet taken place. Roberts said Friday that he had rightfully returned to renew Trump’s request now that the jury was empowered.
Robert also pointed to a woman who called for her firing Thursday after receiving media attention.
Trump’s lawyers argued the jurors’ concerns prove it would be unfair for Trump to be tried in the city because of the former president’s high profile.
Stephen Wu, appellate director for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, argued that the record actually shows “successful jury selection.”
He said there are “robust processes” in place to ensure jurors are impartial and to weed out jurors who may be biased.
Opening statements in the criminal trial begin Monday morning, despite President Trump’s efforts to delay it.
The trial will then turn in earnest to details of Trump’s alleged affair with the adult film star, which he denies, and the hush money he paid her in the run-up to the 2016 election. Prosecutors will explain their theory of the case, followed by Trump’s lawyers summarizing their arguments against the charges.
The first witness is then called. Prosecutors have not said who will do that, saying they don’t want to see President Trump post about witnesses beforehand.
Tuesday morning will shift to arguments about witnesses in the Trump case, as Marchan plans a hearing on the former president’s social media posts that prosecutors say violated his gag order.
They want a judge to fine Trump $1,000 for each post and warn him that violating the gag order could result in jail time.
