Jury selection continues in the courtroom today as the process of selecting a jury could take up to two weeks.
Trump is required to be present at trial, which could go for six to eight weeks.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels at the end of the 2016 election cycle to keep her quiet about her allegation that she and he had an affair. The former president has denied the affair as well.
The quest to find a jury of 12 people and six alternates got off to a slow start Monday, as more than half of the 96 potential jurors summoned to the Manhattan courtroom said they couldn’t be “fair and impartial” when it comes to Trump, the polarizing New York native and former commander-in-chief.
The dismissals on day one were an indication of how challenging it could be to find a group of 12 impartial jurors for such a unique case. It concerns a high-profile sex scandal that involves a former president who is running once again for the White House.
READ ALSO: Trump faces hush money trial in New York Court
“I just couldn’t do it,” one prospective juror was heard saying as she left court.
Trump complained after court Monday that Judge Juan Merchan wouldn’t let him skip court May 17 to attend his son’s high school graduation, though Merchan has yet to actually rule on the request, saying he would do so later.
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche also asked whether Trump could be excused on April 25, the date the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear his arguments about presidential immunity stemming from the federal election interference case against him. Merchan rejected that request after Blanche told him, “We shouldn’t be here at all right now.”
“You don’t believe you should be here right now?” the judge responded. “He’s required to be here. He’s not required to be at the Supreme Court,” he added.
Credible News.ng
