Twelve jurors and an alternate were seated in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial on Thursday (Pictures: Reuters/Getty Images)
Day three of ex-President Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial concluded with the seating of the full jury of 12 New Yorkers.
In addition to the panel of a dozen who will decide if to convict Trump in the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president, one alternate juror was sworn in on Thursday afternoon. Five more alternates need to be selected and the process is set to resume on Friday.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush payment during his 2016 presidential campaign to silence porn star Stormy Daniels on an alleged affair. He has denied having sex with her.
If convicted, Trump could face up to four years in prison.
Former President Donald Trump returns to Manhattan Criminal Court as jury selection continues on Thursday (Picture: EPA)
Opening statements could begin as soon as Monday, said Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case.
The jurors were picked from a pool of dozens of residents of Manhattan. After indicating that they could consider the case impartially, the jurors had to answer 42 questions about topics including their neighborhood, any radio shows they listen to, and marital status.
By the end of day two of the trial on Tuesday, seven jurors were selected. Two of them were abruptly excused on Thursday, then seven new jurors were chosen.
The jurors’ identities are kept secret and only known to attorneys in the case. Here is what is known about the individuals who have been seated, based on reports from inside Manhattan Criminal Court:
Juror 1
A man from Ireland who works in sales and enjoys the outdoors. He stays informed on the news from The New York Times, the Daily Mail, MSNBC and Fox News. Merchan assigned him to be foreperson. He was selected on Tuesday.
Juror 2
A corporate lawyer from Oregon whose hobbies include hiking. He reads news from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Google. He stated that he does not ‘follow the news that closely’ and is ‘not super familiar with the other charges’. He was selected on Tuesday
Juror 3
A middle school English teacher who does not have a lot of interest in the news or politics. She learns about current events through The New York Times and TikTok. She claimed she does not have strong opinions about Trump and said during questioning from a lawyer representing the ex-president: ‘President Trump speaks his mind. I would rather that in a person than someone who’s in office and you don’t know what they’re doing behind the scenes.’ She was selected on Tuesday.
Juror 4
A software engineer who said she can evaluate Trump just like any other person on trial. She gets her news from The New York Times and TikTok. She was selected on Tuesday.
Juror 5
A civil litigator who likes to spend time with his children and outdoors. He reads The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and the New York Post, and listens to podcasts including Smartless and Car Talk. He was selected on Tuesday.
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