But several New Yorkers who could have served in the historic role indicated that even the possibility of sitting on former President Trump’s jury was too much to bear.
Anxiety and fear tore through the pool of potential jurors in Trump’s hush money case throughout four days of jury selection this week.
“I’m not used to being on stage, I’m nervous,” said one prospective juror.
Even a juror who made it through the entire selection process and was seated for the trial eventually changed tune.
When one prospective juror was called in to discuss her post calling Trump “a racist, sexist, narcissist,” she appeared embarrassed.
Trump’s lawyers spent most of their questioning pressing prospective jurors on whether they had strong opinions about Trump.
One man suggested he’d been on a jury in a case involving Trump years ago and also knew some of the Central Park Five.
I’ve kind of spent my whole life knowing about Donald Trump,” one woman said.
NEW YORK – Appointing jurors in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. S. It was never going to be easy being president.
However, a few New Yorkers who were eligible to fill the historic position said that they couldn’t even handle the prospect of serving on the jury for the former president Trump.
“I have to be upfront with you. I’m feeling very tense and uneasy right now. Holding back her tears with a tissue in hand, one woman apologized. “I felt like I could handle this, but I also wouldn’t want someone who thinks this way to criticize me.”. “.
She said, “This is so much more stressful than I thought it was going to be,” and was then given her excuse.
Throughout the four days of jury selection this week, fear and anxiety tore through the pool of prospective jurors in Trump’s hush money case.
While some expressed a general unease about being one of the 12 primary and 6 alternate jurors who will soon decide the fate of the former president in a case attracting international attention, others claimed the pressure of constant media coverage was too overwhelming.
The politics of the whole thing came next.
When one of the most divisive individuals in the nation was at the center of the case, over half of the 192 New Yorkers who were screened said they couldn’t be objective right away. Another issue was the differing degrees of separation from Trump, given that the case is being heard in the city where he first gained notoriety.
As the selection process progressed, a considerable number of the remaining candidates had second thoughts. Approximately fifteen feet away from Trump, some people became agitated while responding to questions, while others became emotional and requested to be excused.
One potential juror made the quip, “I just couldn’t do it,” as they exited the courtroom. “.
Some jurors were agitated because Trump frequently glanced over to the jury box while following along with a copy of the 42-question survey the New Yorkers were asked to complete.
One potential juror stated, “I’m nervous because I’m not used to being on stage.”.
The judge told him, “You’re doing great.”.
After sitting through the entire selection process and the trial, even one juror eventually had second thoughts. She complained about the intense media attention, claiming that it was starting to compromise her objectivity since friends and family were asking her if she was a juror. The judge chastised the media as a result.
“I don’t think I can be fair and impartial and let the outside influences not affect my decision-making in the courtroom at this point,” the woman stated.
Following a taxing four days of proceedings, a jury comprised of twelve Manhattanites and six alternates was chosen to hear the historic hush money case in which Trump is accused of fabricating financial documents to hide a contract he had with an adult film actress before the 2016 election. On Monday, the opening statements are scheduled to start.
In his not-guilty plea, Trump has refuted any misconduct. He has also often bemoaned his inability to receive a fair trial in deep blue Manhattan because he is a Republican candidate.
On the second day of the trial, Trump told reporters, “We have a very conflicted judge and he’s rushing this trial, doing everything he can for the Democrats.”. This witch hunt is reminiscent of Biden. “.
“The entire world is keeping an eye on this trial,” he declared.
Outside the courtroom, Trump frequently attacked the trial on Truth Social, which prompted prosecutors to repeatedly charge him with breaking his gag order. Trump stated in a post that “liberal activists” were trying to be jurors.
It happened as his attorneys scrambled to go through the social media posts of potential jurors, occasionally finding disparaging remarks about the former president and bringing each one back into the courtroom for a questioning.
One potential juror looked embarrassed when her post labeling Trump “a racist, sexist, narcissist” was brought up.
As she saw the post, she said to Trump’s lawyer Susan Necheles, “Oops, that sounds bad.”.
Soon after, the woman expressed her regret.
She said to Trump, “I should apologize for the tone of some of my posts,” retracting her accusation that the former president is a racist.
In the end, the judge dismissed the woman and accepted the former president’s challenge.
For the most part of their interrogation, Trump’s attorneys pressed potential jurors on whether or not they had strong feelings toward the president. Many were unwilling to directly criticize him in response to the question.
Another man remarked, “I think people kind of struggle with this question because he’s a person, a politician, and a businessman.”.
In the city that helped propel Trump to fame and, eventually, the White House, the trial is being held in his hometown of New York City.
One man claimed to know some of the Central Park Five and to have served on a jury in a Trump case in the past. Trump ran a newspaper ad demanding the execution of the group of Black and Latino teenagers who had been falsely accused of attacking a white female jogger in the park in 1989.
“I knew some of the kids, their cousins, going back to Central Park,” the man remarked.
A native New Yorker who works in law enforcement but is a “wannabe hockey player,” the man thought of how much he liked Trump, whose business restored a Central Park ice rink that “nobody couldn’t fix.”. Another man claimed that when he was younger, he had fantasies of living in Trump Tower.
Though Trump may have caused anxiety among the jurors, everyone knew him.
“I have thoughts about things. In Brooklyn, New York, I was born and raised. One woman remarked, “I feel like I’ve known about Donald Trump my whole life.
