OAN’s Abril Elfi
5:16 PM – Thursday, April 18, 2024
All 12 jurors have now been selected to serve on the jury for former President Donald Trump’s trial.
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On Thursday, all 12 jurors for the case against Trump, where he is accused of allegedly falsifying records to hide “hush money” payments to former pornstar Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, were seated.
Meanwhile, Judge Juan Merchan excused two of the seven jurors who had been chosen on Tuesday.
The first dismissed juror had voiced worries about her identity going viral and her capacity to form an opinion free from outside media interference.
The second dismissed juror was excused when it later became apparent that the man was lying when asked if he or anyone close to him had been charged with a crime.
Two jurors will be replacing them. An “investment banker” who “resides with [his] spouse, follows Trump on Twitter, and tunes into Michael Cohen’s podcast” is one of the new, recently appointed jurors. The man maintained that he would “act impartially and fairly.”
The second new juror is a “security engineer who now resides on the Upper West Side after originally being from California.” He “work[s] with metal and wood, is married, and has children.” He also mentioned that several of his relatives work as attorneys.
The rest of the jurors and an alternate juror have also been seated.
Juror 8 is described as a man who is “retired” and says he “enjoy[s] skiing, fly fishing, and yoga.”
The ninth juror is a “speech therapist who gets [her] news from CNN and reality TV podcasts.”
Juror 10 is a man who works in “commerce, reads The New York Times, and listens to podcasts on behavioral psychology.”
The 11th juror is a woman who works as a “product development manager.” She said that she watches “late-night news, and reads Google, fashion, and business news.”
The last and final juror is a woman who works as a “physical therapist” and likes “running and tennis and listening to sports and faith.”
Alternate juror 1 is a woman who works as an “asset manager.” She said that her hobbies include running, hanging out with friends, and eating.
The trial comes amid a six-figure hush-money payment that Trump allegedly paid to Daniels via his former attorney, as well as Playboy playmate Karen McDougal, ahead of the 2016 election.
The 45th president has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records in connection with so-called hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. This was reportedly done through Trump’s now-disgruntled former attorney, Michael Cohen.
The trial is expected to last around two months, and if convicted, the former president faces up to four years in prison.
The judge has stated that jury selection will continue Friday, and he remains “hopeful” that opening statements will begin on Monday.
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