Dozens of New Yorkers declared they could not be impartial jurors in the hush money case against Donald Trump, as the arduous process of picking a panel to preside over the first criminal trial of a former US president got under way in a Manhattan courthouse on Monday.
Within an hour of jury selection beginning in the historic case — in which Trump is accused of disguising payments made to buy the silence of a porn star who alleged an affair in the run-up to the 2016 election — more than 50 prospective jurors were dismissed for confirming they would be unable to overcome their biases and fairly decide the fate of one of the world’s most polarising political figures.
One young woman excused from jury duty was overheard saying “I just couldn’t do it” while leaving the courtroom.
The faltering start marked the beginning of what is expected to be a six-week trial for the presumptive Republican nominee for the White House, who will be required to attend at least four days a week. Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, declined to guarantee that Trump would have Wednesdays free for campaign events, or that he would be excused to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation.
Still, Trump attempted to spin the proceedings to his benefit. Even as he sat in court, his supporters received emails urging them to donate to his presidential campaign, while posts decrying the proceedings as a “witch hunt” and “election interference” were published on the former president’s Truth Social site.
The trial stems from the first criminal indictment brought against Trump last year, which charged him with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, involving payments totalling $130,000 that were allegedly made to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels. Daniels had alleged that she had an affair with Trump years earlier, which the billionaire has denied.
The 77-year-old, who appeared at times to be nodding off during Monday’s lengthy proceedings in an uncomfortably warm courtroom, faces three other criminal cases, over his alleged attempt to thwart the results of the 2020 election and the retention of classified documents after his presidency. The Manhattan case, however, is likely to be the only one to be tried before the presidential election in November .
Roughly 500 potential jurors are set to be questioned over the course of the week, as well as by lawyers from both parties, until 12 jurors and six alternates are selected.
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The pool, all from the borough of Manhattan, will be asked whether they get their news from left-leaning outlets such as MSNBC, or right-leaning media such as Fox News, and whether they have ever attended a Trump rally or been a supporter of fringe movements such as QAnon.
Only 10 jurors were questioned before court adjourned for the day on Monday, including a West Harlem resident, originally from Ireland, two male lawyers, a woman from the Upper East Side who works in social media marketing for FanDuel, and an oncology nurse. More than half of the dozens previously dismissed were women.
A man who works as a bookseller at the Drama Book Shop, and previously worked at Shakespeare and Company, was particularly vocal about his ability to remain impartial. “I feel that nobody is above the law, whether it be a former president or a sitting president or a janitor,” he told the court.
Before the beginning of jury selection, lawyers for the prosecution and Trump continued to tussle over various issues, including what evidence will be allowed at trial. The office of district attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, also asked Merchan to fine Trump for his attacks on potential witnesses in the New York hush money case.
A lawyer for Bragg told the court that Trump had violated a previously imposed gag order in at least three social media posts published in the past few days. He asked the judge to fine Trump $1,000 per post and warn him that further violations could result in jail time.
Trump had over the weekend again questioned the credibility of his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a crucial witness in the case, calling him a “disgraced attorney and felon”. He had earlier reposted a statement relating to Cohen and Daniels, who is also a potential witness, and thanked the original author for “revealing the truth about two sleaze bags”.
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Merchan said he would hear arguments over the gag order issue next week.
Trump’s counsel did secure a series of small victories on Monday morning, after Merchan agreed that introducing a recording of the notorious Access Hollywood tape, in which the then-reality television star bragged about grabbing women by their genitals, would be prejudicial to the defendant.
Merchan similarly barred prosecutors from introducing a video of sworn testimony Trump gave in a civil case brought by E Jean Carroll, and other allegations of sexual assault against the former president, calling them “complete hearsay”.
Security was tight at the courthouse, and a small number of demonstrators, both for and against the former president, gathered outside.
Leaving the court, Trump spoke briefly to reporters in the hallway, calling the case a “scam”. He said last week he intended to testify in his own defence at the trial.
“We’re not going to be given a fair trial. It’s a very, very sad thing,” he added.
Additional reporting by Steff Chávez in Washington