As the first day of former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial came to an end, no jurors were selected out of almost a hundred prospective jurors after many of them said they lacked the ability to be impartial.
Out of the 96 potential jurors who had been brought in for jury selection, more than 50 indicated that they “couldn’t be fair,” and were excused, according to the New York Times.
As New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, Trump’s defense attorneys, and the prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office continued through the process of trying to select 12 jurors, potential jurors were given a questionnaire containing 42 questions.
TRUMP ON TRIAL: Day 1 of @ManhattanDA Alvin Bragg’s historic hush money case adjourned with no jurors selected.
Can the former president find a fair jury in Big Apple? I asked a former prosecutor and SU law professor tonight on @CitrusTVNews. pic.twitter.com/BYsHkJb9lS
— Luke Radel (@lukeradel) April 15, 2024
Jurors were asked questions such as, “Have you ever attended a rally or campaign event for Donald Trump?” or, “Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about whether a former president may be criminally charged in state court?”
“Do you currently follow Donald Trump on any social media site or have you done so in the past?” another question asked the jurors.
Other questions on the questionnaire for jurors to answer range from, “Who is your current employer?” to, “What do you like to do in your spare time?”
Bragg charged Trump in April 2023 with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first-degree relating to payments made to adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election.
Attorneys for Trump, whose presence is required each day for the trial, requested that the former president be allowed to attend the high school graduation of his youngest son, Barron, on May 17.
While Merchan acknowledged the request, he reportedly refused to make a ruling, noting that it “depends” if they are “on time and where” they were in the trial, according to Business Insider.
The trial can reportedly last anywhere from six to eight weeks, according to CBS News.
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